Delivery systems for control of bleeding in transurethral prostatectomy

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a gastrointestinal delivery device of a chitosan dressing, where the delivery device is capable of stop bleeding, in particular in connection with TURP procedures. The delivery device may be used in all gastrointestinal bleeding applications and can be used with a biocompatible, foldable, thin profile, chitosan dressing. Various aspects of the device and its uses are provided herein.

GOVERNMENT LICENSE RIGHTS

This invention was made with Government support under R42DK078400 awarded by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease. The Government has certain right in the invention.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

This disclosure relates to the field of delivery systems for control of bleeding in transurethral prostatectomy by delivery and application of dressings and uses thereof.

Description of the Related Art

Current bleeding control in and after transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) relies on cautery for small vessel arterial bleeding and application of balloon pressure to address venous oozing. The bladder neck and prostrate are both highly vascularized tissue that often continue to bleed following injury and through wound healing. The initial injury site may continue to bleed for days unless standard hemostasis is applied and the bleeding may also recur around week one or week two after TURP procedure when the scab of prostatic cavity sheds off. Current standard initial hemostasis for treatment of bleeding following TURP is to apply manual traction with a balloon catheter followed by continuous bladder irrigation with saline. Typically, balloon pressure can be applied for up to 24 hours in the case of protracted bleeding. If the bleeding is uncontrollable after the period of conservational management, the patient may have to return to surgical unit promptly to stop the hemorrhaging with either open or endoscopic procedures.

Although there have been advances in bleeding control using advanced dressings for applications outside of TURP bleeding control, none of these advances have yet translated to the unique conditions of the bladder and the prostrate where delivery, adhesion, continuous oozing bleeding and urine considerations are highly challenging. Rapid bleeding control in TURP, in open prostatectomy and in bladder resection is highly desirable. Benign Prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer are two of the most common urologic diseases that are treated with surgical intervention in aging men. An estimated 50% of men have histologic evidence of BPH by age 50 years and 75% are thought to display such evidence by age 80 years. In 40-50% of these patients, BPH becomes clinically significant. Although the incidence of uncontrolled bleeding from surgical intervention involving prostate and urethra is relatively low, it remains a significant risk that must be addressed by in hospital with a length of stay over at least two to three nights. According to statistical analysis of U.S. Department of Health and Human Service from 2005 to 2010, there was an average of 150,000 discharges from either open or transurethral procedure prostatectomy in the U.S., with direct surgery cost surpassing an average $4.5 billion annually. In these patients, the average length of hospital stay with open or transurethral prostatectomy was 3.1 and 2.4 days respectively. In the patients who had blood transfusion due to significant blood loss (4-5%) in the surgery, the average length of stay was prolonged to five or six days that cost an average $15,700 more in each case compared to the average cost ($29,300) of prostatectomy patients in 2010. The costs of the prostatectomy procedure are high because of operating-room time, surgeon time, and hospital length of stay.

TURP is considered the benchmark therapy for BPH. Partial removal (resection) of the prostate is accomplished in TURP by minimally invasive surgery through the urethra using a cystoscope (endoscope for the bladder via the urethra) and electrocautery. The thin loop electrocautery used in TURP results in less tissue necrosis than other less common minimally invasive prostatectomy procedures, however there is more intraoperative bleeding with TURP. Appropriate prostate resection and control of bleeding in TURP, like other forms of prostatectomy, are its essential challenges. The volume of the intraoperative bleeding in prostatectomy depends on the size of the prostate, the length of time to resect the prostate, and the surgeon's skill. Significant bleeding or hemorrhage after prostatectomy often causes undesirable clot retention (and resulting urinary retention) in the bladder and urethra that may prolong time in hospital, and even necessitate re-operation. In general, arterial bleeding is easily identified and controlled by electrocoagulation, but the venous bleeding common in TURP is more difficult to control. Attempts to control venous bleeding by electrocautery and irrigation may result in undesirable outcomes such as TURP syndrome. In standard of care control, venous bleeding is controlled by filling the bladder with irrigating fluid and application of an inflated transurethral balloon catheter to compress the bleeding prostatic cavity. TURP associated post-operative morbidity rate has been reported as high as 18% with an operative mortality rate of 0.3%. In older patients, the risk of blood loss related morbidity and mortality increases significantly in association with coagulation disorders and cardiovascular abnormalities. Uncontrolled bleeding during TURP is still one of the major complications of prostate resection and this often leads to converting to less desirable open surgery. Although there is significant progress in the management of BPH, the incidence of uncontrolled strong bleeding remains around 6% and blood transfusion rate to address this bleeding is 4% to 5%.

In the typical TURP, the length of hospital stay is two to four days and the patient has an inflated urinary balloon catheter in place until bleeding stops and urine becomes clear. Any significant reduction of post-op bleeding following TURP will shorten time of catheterization and hospital bed requirements. It will also decrease the incidence of urinary tract infection, catheter-related patient discomfort and related complications. Significant hematuria (blood in urine), resulting from either transurethral or open surgery, which causes hemodynamic instability and clot retention, requires immediate medical attention and medical care for hemostasis, clot clearance, blood transfusion, and coagulation evaluation. Treatment of significant hematuria through a transurethral approach is troublesome due to limited operative visual and spatial restriction. Most often the patient has to return to the operating room to perform an open bladder surgery to achieve hemostasis and remove cystic clots. A complicating factor of prostatectomy is that TURP patients are commonly anti-coagulated due to the presence of other chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease. Although it is preferable to have these patients taken off their anti-coagulation medication such as Coumadin and Plavix before TURP surgery because of risk of bleeding, it would be preferable to be able to perform the procedure while the patient remains on their medication to reduce the possibility of stroke or myocardial infarction during the procedure. A reliable and sustainable hemostatic technique, preferably effective in the case of anti-coagulated individuals, is urgently required for the transurethral application to control significant bleeding following prostate resection.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The disclosure generally relates to delivery devices for delivering and/or applying dressings, such as those including chitosan materials, into the bladder through the urethra. In some embodiments, a delivery device is used in connection with a TURP procedure.

In one aspect, the delivery device of the present disclosure generally relates to a chitosan endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device including a chitosan endoluminal hemostatic dressing (CEHD), a distal balloon, and a proximal balloon that is proximal along a length of the delivery device with respect to the distal balloon, wherein the distal balloon, when inflated, can be used to position the proximal balloon and the CEHD with low tension along the delivery device. In some embodiments, the chitosan endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device further includes a catheter. In some embodiments, the distal balloon, when inflated, can sit against a neck of a human bladder. In some embodiments, the distal balloon, when inflated, can be used to align the proximal balloon with an injury site. In some embodiments, the injury site is at a prostate cavity injury. In some embodiments, the CEHD is attached to the proximal balloon by a releasable tape. In some embodiments, the CEHD is furled around the proximal balloon. In some embodiments, the proximal balloon can be inflated to deliver the CEHD to an injury site. In some embodiments, the chitosan endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device further includes a water impermeable sheath extending around the CEHD. In some embodiments, the water impermeable sheath can be ruptured before or upon delivery of the CEHD to an injury site.

In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a chitosan endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device including a CEHD, a balloon that can be used to deliver the CEHD to an injury site, and a catheter. In some embodiments, the injury site is inside a bladder of a patient. In some embodiments, the balloon can be aligned with the injury site. In some embodiments, the injury site is at a prostate cavity injury. In some embodiments, the CEHD is attached to the balloon by a releasable tape. In some embodiments, the CEHD is furled around the balloon. In some embodiments, the balloon can be inflated to deliver the CEHD to the injury site. In some embodiments, the chitosan endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device further includes a water impermeable sheath around the CEHD. In some embodiments, the water impermeable sheath can be ruptured before or upon delivery of the CEHD to the injury site. In some preferred embodiments, the dressing is a CEHD and comprises chitosan and the surface of the dressing facing inwards against the balloon is preferably formed of non-modified, non-adhesive chitosan; meanwhile, the surface of the dressing facing out away from the balloon and towards the holding sheath and the tissue surface is substantially modified to cause it to adhere uniformly to tissue on wetting and balloon inflation once the outer sheath has been removed.

A dressing used with the system of the invention may have one or more, or all, of the following features, such that it is: (1) able to be folded or furled and unfolded and unfurled without tearing or compromised mechanical performance; (2) able to be applied in the presence of blood and urine at about 37° C. without significant dimensional changes in length, width and height or loss in mechanical properties; (3) able to be delivered in the presence of urine and blood; (4) able to be delivered to injury site by a transluminal or transurethral delivery device; (5) able to be unfolded or unfurled at delivery site; (6) characterized by capillarity, porosity and absorbency that is able to remove hydrophilic and hydrophobic biological fluids that can interfere with adhesion; (7) activated by wetting to adhere to bladder mucosa, resected bladder mucosa and resected prostate on application of uniform pressure; (8) able to contact itself and packaging materials when dry without adherence to itself or to packaging; (9) inclusive of a tissue adherent side of dressing that is able to contact itself and packaging or delivery materials when wet with urine or blood without adherence to itself or to packaging/ delivery materials if wet contact is not more than about 300 seconds, (10) able to uniformly adhere to tissue and quickly stanch moderate to oozing bleeding at pressure <about 50 mmHg providing opportunity to allow TURP to be performed as an outpatient procedure; (11) able to be released from the delivery device to allow withdrawal of the delivery device from the urethra; (12) able to resist dissolution on exposure to urine at about pH 4.5 to about pH 8 at about 37° C. in about the first 12 hours of application; (13) enables (with or without delivery device in place) the urethra to remain patent with dressing or residues of dressing present and allows unobstructed passage of urine; (14) protects the injury site and provides for promotion of healing; (15) provides a controlled, slow degradation and/or dissolution from the attachment site (bladder neck, prostate, and/or urethra) to allow for removal without surgical assistance in less than about 7 days. Dressings of the present invention may include catechol modified chitosan materials.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows in-profile, a schematic drawing of a double balloon catheter being used to deliver a dressing to a resected prostatic fossa through a patient's urethra with maintenance of inflated bladder and its irrigation by delivery of saline (H2O).

FIG. 1B shows a single balloon catheter being used to deliver a dressing through a patient's urethra to be applied at a resection injury of the bladder neck. FIG. 1C shows a double balloon catheter being used to deliver a dressing through a patient's urethra to a resected prostatic fossa.

FIG. 1D shows a single balloon catheter being used to deliver a dressing through a patient's urethra to address injury and bleeding with anastomosis of the bladder neck.

FIG. 1E shows a preferred double balloon delivery catheter of the invention with inflated distal balloon located inside a partially filled bladder with inflation of distal balloon rupturing the protective sheath distally and along the distal seam of the sheath allowing the sheath to be removed intact by pulling on its distal end.

FIG. 1F shows the double balloon catheter of FIG. 1E with the sheath fully removed and the furled dressing beneath revealed. The catheter is pulled gently from its proximal end to position the distal balloon against the bladder neck to provide for correct alignment of the more proximal balloon (not shown) and the furled dressing (shown) against the resected prostatic fossa (shown in relief).

FIG. 1G shows the double balloon catheter of FIGS. 1E and IF with the unsheathed and well-located proximal balloon inflated to apply and adhere the now unfurled dressing of the invention intimately against the resected prostatic fossa.

FIG. 2 demonstrates a photographic record sequence of images (FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, and 2I) of preparation and attachment of a CEHD dressing of the invention onto a proximal balloon of a double balloon 14 French catheter.

FIG. 2A depicts a dressing being readied for attachment to the balloon catheter with plan view of non-modified chitosan side inside folded cone.

FIG. 2B depicts a dressing being readied for attachment to the balloon catheter with side view of catechol-modified chitosan side outside folded cone and cone edge rim of non-modified chitosan.

FIG. 2C shows alignment of the tip of the balloon catheter (at top right hand of image) with base cone opening of dressing at bottom of image.

FIG. 2D shows tip of the balloon support inside the folded dressing.

FIG. 2E demonstrates furling the outlying wings of the folded dressing around the balloon catheter.

FIG. 2F shows double sided pressure adhesive tape attachment of the apex of the folded cone of the dressing to the balloon catheter while continuing to furl the loose wings of the dressing around the catheter body.

FIG. 2G shows another view of FIG. 2F.

FIG. 2H depicts the placement and sliding of the tip of the balloon catheter and attached furled dressing inside the protective sheath.

FIG. 2I shows the final furled dressing on its catheter with both passed along the length of the protective sheath to its closed end. The protective sheath in the image is formed of a single seamed, tear-able, polypropylene tube about 8 mm in diameter, 32 cm in length, and 20 microns in wall thickness, sealed at its distal end and reinforced along its length with at least two 3 mm wide strips of non-tearable adhesive tape.

FIGS. 3A-3F demonstrate a schematic sequence of balloon catheter; circular, conical, folded chitosan endoluminal dressing including, for example, a CEHD; attachment of chitosan dressing to balloon catheter; protection of catheter attached chitosan dressing by removable occlusive sheath; and positioning of catheter and dressing in urethra to cover prostate and bladder neck to enable delivery and attachment of dressing with removal of catheter if desired.

FIG. 3A provides a schematic drawing of a double balloon catheter showing three ports at its proximal end and 2 uninflated balloons at its distal end.

FIG. 3B provides a schematic drawing of a conical, partially folded chitosan endoluminal dressing,

FIG. 3C provides a schematic drawing of a double balloon catheter loaded with one circular chitosan endoluminal dressing, the circular chitosan dressing of the invention folded into a cone shape, with the catheter positioned through the clipped apex of the folded cone, and apex positioned (and apex preferably attached to catheter by double sided adhesive tape) proximally to the balloon filling so that the inside of the dressing cone extends over the collapsed underlying proximal balloon of the catheter. A single cylindrical sheath with closed end holds in place and protects the underlying folded and furled chitosan dressing.

FIG. 3D presents an extended positioning of the catheter delivery device and its dressing with respect to position in urethra, prostate, bladder neck and bladder; with dressing overlap of the bladder neck and edge of distal balloon.

FIG. 3E presents preferred positioning of the dressing of the invention on the balloon delivery catheter covering only the proximal balloon

FIG. 3F presents a preferred positioning of the catheter delivery device and its dressing as illustrated in FIG. 3E with respect to position in urethra, prostate, bladder neck and bladder.

FIG. 4 provides a schematic drawing of an alternate embodiment of the delivery device and positioning of a chitosan endoluminal chitosan including, for example, a CEHD dressing of the invention.

FIG. 4A (the upper portion of FIG. 4) provides a schematic drawing of a single balloon catheter loaded with two (2) chitosan endoluminal dressings of the invention, each folded into a cone shape, each with folded edges of dressing in close approximation and extending to encompass the collapsed underlying single end balloon of the catheter. A single cylindrical sheath with closed end holds in place and protects the underlying folded and furled chitosan dressings. Also, a preferred positioning of the catheter delivery device and its cargo dressing is presented in FIG. 3A with respect to urethra, prostate, bladder neck and bladder.

FIG. 4B (the lower portion of FIG. 4) provides a schematic drawing of aligned and partially folded chitosan endoluminal dressings of the invention before cutting of their apex ends and before positioning, attachment and furling around the single catheter balloon of FIG. 3A and placement of the overlying sheath.

FIG. 5 depicts a simple chemistry drawing of catechol chitosan reaction.

FIG. 6 depicts a chemical structure representation of chitosan (R1=H and acetyl radical) and catechol modified chitosan (R1=H, acetyl, hydrocaffeic acid radical, caffeic acid radical, trans-caffeic acid radical and Homoprotocatechuic acid radical). For chitosan polymer, preferably n>60, more preferably n>300, and most preferably n>600.

FIG. 7 depicts an N-acylation addition reaction in the presence of 1-ethyl-3-(-3-dimethylamino-propyl)-carbodiimide (EDC) where 3,4-dihydroxyhydrocinnamic is covalently attached to a chitosan C-2 amine with a degree of substitution of 25% in aqueous solution at pH 5.5.

FIG. 8 depicts oxidation of catechol modified chitosan to ortho-quinone modified chitosan under elevated pH and in the presence of oxygen

FIG. 9 depicts Schiff base (A) and Michael addition (B) reactions causing crosslinking between catechol modified chitosan and chitosan.

FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B depict digital images of the two-sided catechol modified chitosan dressing of the invention adhered to the wall of a 250 ml volumetric cylinder by balloon catheter application for 2 hours submerged in 0.9% w/w physiological aqueous saline solution at 25±3° C. at close to 48 hours after initial attachment. Note that there is no trace of the original unmodified chitosan dressing at 48 hours. FIG. 10A is a side-on view and FIG. 10B is a plan view.

FIG. 11 depicts a digital endoscopic image of the catechol chitosan dressing of the invention within 30 minutes attached uniformly to the bladder neck and lumen of urethra of a close to 100 lbs female swine. The bladder is swollen by urine and saline injected to aid in the viewing. The image was taken by trocar delivery of an endoscope through the wall of the swine bladder and with the endoscope viewport directed at the swine bladder neck and entrance to the urethra. The image demonstrates a patent urethra, a wispy rapidly degrading non-modified chitosan backing, and a modified catechol dressing intimately adhered to the bladder neck and lumen of urethra.

FIG. 12 depicts a glass flow cell 4 cm long and 1.5 cm internal diameter capable of supporting a 6 cm long 1.5 cm diameter stretched tube of porcine small intestine submucosa by wrapping over the ends of the cell and applying pressure ties; i is glass jacket; ii is 4 cm; iii is 1.6 cm; iv is glass fixture for tubing connection; v is perforated glass cylinder region between ring clamps; vi is ca. 3.2 cm; vii is 1.5 cm;

viii is 1.5 cm; ix is (Schott) 1.5 cm ID; x is 2.5 mm tube wall.

FIG. 13 depicts a typical flow cell design (with 3 cells attached in parallel) for testing adherence and dissolution resistance under urine flow at 37° C. of novel dressings adhered to cell supported ex vivo tissue surfaces.

FIG. 14 shows the mean bleeding rates in the bladder injury model of a preferred embodiment device of the invention (balloon and dressing combined with delivery balloon deflated after application) compared to standard of care control (balloon device without dressing but remaining inflated against injury).

FIG. 15 shows histological wound healing at 7 days of control and preferred embodiment device of the invention.

FIGS. 16A-16G show tables of various parameters for batches used to prepare chitosan dressings.

FIG. 17A-17E show a table of various chitosan dressing preparations, including formulations, and dissolution, foldability, burst testing, ex-vivo, accelerated stability, and in vivo characteristics.

FIG. 18 depicts round-shaped catechol modified chitosan dressing that are (pre-cut) 2.5 inches by 2 inches in diameter and compressed to near 50 microns. The coloration of these catechol modified chitosan dressing, starting from left to right, ranges from light pinkish brown (first dressing), 2 dressings of darker pinkish brown, 2 tan brown colored dressings (no pink), 1 brown dressing and lastly 1 darker brown dressing. Catechol chitosan dressings 5 and 6 are formed from 2.5 inch and 2 inch molds and they are backed with unmodified chitosan dressings both from 2.5 inch molds and the unmodified chitosan can be seen clearly as the white halo (no brown or pink color) in dressing 6. The catechol chitosan and unmodified chitosan dressings were adhered together during compression to a final shared density >0.4 g/cm³. The pink coloration is associated with unoxidized catechol while the brown color is associated with the oxidized catechol (o-quinone). The lighter browns and lighter pinks are associated with lower degree of substitution of the chitosan with catechol (nearer to 10%) while the darker colorations (pinkish brown and brown) are associated with higher degree of substitution of the chitosan with catechol (nearer to 20%).

FIG. 19 depicts a catechol modified chitosan dressing that has been folded and unfolded, while remaining intact, with visible fold axis (crease).

Reference numbers, if included in the Figures, correspond to written text as follows: 1—Side view of double balloon catheter (with both balloons empty or collapsed); 2—Balloon catheter tubing body; 3—Proximal balloon (Delivery balloon); 4—Distal balloon (Distal or placement/ positioning balloon in a double balloon delivery catheter. In one embodiment, the double balloon delivery catheter is preferred over the single balloon catheter as the distal balloon can be used to rupture and initiate removal of the sheath and it provides ideal ability to locate the delivery balloon. The distal balloon may be used to achieve apposition of a dressing such as, for example, a CEHD, against the bladder neck in the case of anastomoses and bladder neck injury and, in that case, the body of the dressing attached to the catheter extends beyond the proximal balloon and partly covers the bottom third of the distal balloon); 5—Ports for the balloon catheter (three (3) ports are typical in a two (2) balloon, or double balloon, delivery catheter however a multi-lumen catheter with two (2) balloons may have more). There is typically one port for each balloon and at least one point for irrigation and drainage. The ports typically connect to standard syringe luer connectors.; 6—Irrigation ports (6 a proximal; 6 b distal); 7—Expanded side view of the double balloon body and its collapsed ballooned delivery end.; 8—8 a is plan view of a conical, partially folded dressing with attachment point (9); 8 b is side view of conical, partially folded dressing with attachment apex point (9); 8 c is conical, partially folded dressing with attachment point (9) proximal (left) of delivery balloon catheter. The apex end of the cone may be removed by cutting to allow for matching with the diameter of the delivery balloon attachment location or more preferably two short cuts are made at 90° to one another along opposing fold lines in the cone providing for four or more short wings (10) of the conical dressing. Note that there may be two dressings on one balloon with distal and proximal attachment points (not drawn) or preferably one dressing with proximal attachment only. An alternate delivery embodiment is with the dressing furled as a cylinder around the delivery balloon (not drawn here); 9—Apex attachment point of conical, partially folded dressing; 10—Apex attachment wings of conical, partially folded dressing. The attachment wings may be used to adhere the dressing to the balloon catheter body to prevent its displacement from the original set position on sliding application of the overlying protective sheath. The short wing attachment points can become sufficiently weakened following wetting in dressing delivery that deflation of the balloons and a simple twist allow for removal of the balloon catheter leaving the dressing attached firmly and uniformly inside the lumen of the urethra; 11—Adhesive attachment point of dressing to balloon delivery catheter. Preferably double sided adhesive tape is used to adhere 10 to balloon catheter body; 12—Fully folded and furled dressing (8) attached to the delivery balloon of the delivery catheter; 13—Side view of delivery catheter with fully folded and furled dressing (8) with length of fully folded and furled dressing extending to partially overlap with distal positioning balloon to enable placement by distal balloon traction against bladder neck; 14—Occlusive, cylindrical sheath with sealed distal end (14 b) to keep the dressing in place during delivery and to maintain the dressing dry and free of potential sources of contamination during delivery. The sheath is removed by partial distal end rupture and withdrawal removal intact from proximal end (14 a) after rupture; 15—Balloon catheter positioned desirably against resected prostate and bladder neck to deliver longer 12; 16—Urethra; 17—Prostate; 18—Bladder; 19—Bladder neck; 20—Side view of delivery catheter with fully folded and furled dressing (8) with shorter length (in comparison to 13) of fully folded and furled extending only to distal edge of proximal delivery balloon and no overlap with distal positioning balloon to provide placement by proximal delivery balloon alone; and 21—.Balloon catheter positioned desirably against resected prostate and bladder neck to deliver shorter 12 (in comparison to 15).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention addresses rapid bleeding control in transurethral prostatectomy, open prostatectomy, bladder resection using systems for delivery and application of a foldable, thin (thickness ≤about 500 microns), tissue adherent, dressing. Dressings suitable for use with the present invention include, for example CEHDs and may comprise catechol modified chitosan.

The current invention provides: (1) an ability to rapidly control hemorrhage in prostatectomy using a noninvasive procedure; (2) an ability to control bleeding in anti-coagulated patients; (3) significantly reduced patient pain and discomfort by control of bleeding without need for prolonged catheterization; (4) significantly reduced hospital length of stay; (5) significantly reduced healthcare cost; (6) significantly reduced rate of morbidity; and (7) trending outcomes to a reduced rate of mortality.

A dressing used with the system of the invention may have one or more, or all, of the following features, such that it is: (1) able to be folded or furled and unfolded and unfurled without tearing or compromised mechanical performance; (2) able to be applied in the presence of blood and urine at about 37° C. without significant dimensional changes in length, width and height or loss in mechanical properties; (3) able to be delivered in the presence of urine and blood; (4) able to be delivered to injury site by a transluminal or transurethral delivery device; (5) able to be unfolded or unfurled at delivery site; (6) characterized by capillarity, porosity and absorbency that is able to remove hydrophilic and hydrophobic biological fluids that can interfere with adhesion; (7) activated by wetting to adhere to bladder mucosa, resected bladder mucosa and resected prostate on application of uniform pressure; (8) able to contact itself and packaging materials when dry without adherence to itself or to packaging; (9) inclusive of a tissue adherent side of dressing that is able to contact itself and packaging or delivery materials when wet with urine or blood without adherence to itself or to packaging or delivery materials if wet contact is not more than about 300 seconds, (10) able to uniformly adhere to tissue and quickly stanch moderate to oozing bleeding at pressure ≤about 50 mmHg or, for example, a bleeding rate of between about 20 ml/min to about 150 ml/min or greater, providing opportunity to allow TURP to be performed as an outpatient procedure; (11) able to be released from the delivery device to allow withdrawal of the delivery device from the urethra; (12) able to resist dissolution on exposure to urine at about pH 4.5 to about pH 8 at about 37° C. in about the first 12 hours of application; (13) enables (with or without delivery device in place) the urethra to remain patent with dressing or residues of dressing present and allows unobstructed passage of urine; (14) protects the injury site and provides for promotion of healing; (15) provides a controlled, slow degradation and/or dissolution from the attachment site (bladder neck, prostate, and/or urethra) to allow for removal without surgical assistance in less than about 7 days.

As used herein, bladder mucosa is broadly defined to include any exposed tissue surface in the bladder including any other tissue surface exposed by way of an operation (e.g., surgical operation such as TURP). Bladder mucosa therefore includes bladder mucosa naturally present in the bladder, resected bladder mucosa, and resected prostate, etc.

Chitosan endoluminal hemostatic dressing (CEHD), as used herein, refers to a chitosan dressing that is hemostatic, and can be used in an endoluminal area e.g., inside bladder. CEHD is not limited by the position of its application and includes chitosan dressings applied at any location inside a human body including, but not limited to, bladder mucosa.

Bleed rates, or blood flow rates, in ml/min suitable for treatment by the devices described herein may range from about 1 ml/min to about 200 ml/min. In preferred embodiments, the bleeding rates addressed by the devices range from about 1 ml/min to about 150 ml/min. A bleed rate of between about 20 ml/min and 25 ml/min is considered “brisk” bleeding. Oozing bleeding is generally greater than about 1 ml/min as it is noted that low bleeding rates such as 1 ml/min typically clot and stop of their own accord unless the subject is on anticoagulation therapy or has a disorder of the clotting cascade due to reasons other than taking anticoagulation medication. For such a subject with irreversible anticoagulation medication or with a bleeding disorder, 1 ml/min oozing bleeding remains concerning and needs to be addressed such as by the device of the invention. In some embodiments, the devices described herein are used to address TURP bleeding rates of between about 1 ml/min and about 25 ml/min, or about 1 ml/min and about 20 ml/min, or about 1 ml/min and about 15 ml/min, or about 1 ml/min and about 10 ml/min, or about 1 ml/min and about 5 ml/min.

A TURP delivery device may include any device that is used in a TURP procedure or any device used in connected with a TURP procedure.

Dressings

Dressings suitable for delivery using the systems described herein may include, but art not limited to, for example, chitosan based materials or catechol modified chitosan based materials. Such dressings may be referred to as CEHDs.

Chitosan dressings may refer to compositions that include varying amounts of chitosan. General chemical compositions and different forms of a chitosan dressing are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,820,872, 7,482,503, 7,371,403, 8,313,474, 7,897,832, 9,004,918, 8,920,514, 9,204,957, 8,741,335, 8,269,058, 9,205,170, and 10,086,105. Such chitosan dressings, due to their chemical and physical properties as described previously, have been used to stop bleeding.

In preferred embodiments of the present invention, dressings comprise a catechol modified chitosan material. Reference to catechol-modified chitosan may include reference to catechol-added chitosan. Catechol chitosan materials are further described below.

The chitosan used herein preferably comprises the non-mammalian material polyβ-(1→4)-2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucopyranose. The chitosan can be processed in conventional ways from chitin obtained, for example, from animal crustacean shells such as shrimp. Chitosan may be biocompatible and biodegradable within the body, and is capable of being broken down into glucosamine, a benign material.

A chitosan dressing can be dry or wet. A chitosan dressing is “dry” if the moisture content in the chitosan dressing is less than about 15% by weight, preferably about 10% by weight, and more preferably about 5% by weight. A chitosan dressing is “wet” when the chitosan dressing has come in contact with a source of water, including water in a physiological environments and biological fluids, or in an aqueous solution. For example, a chitosan dressing becomes wet when the chitosan dressing, as described in this disclosure, comes in contact with urine or blood or a bladder tissue surface (bladder mucosa). The chitosan dressing, remaining substantially in a solid form absorbs, displaces, redirects or channels water/moisture in the physiological environment of bladder mucosa in amounts sufficient to permit adhesion of the chitosan dressing to the tissue surface. The adhered chitosan dressing can be used to seal wound surfaces and slow or stop further bleeding. Bladder fluid and bladder fluids are used interchangeably in the present disclosure. Bladder fluids may include urine or other types of physiological fluids present in the bladder, and may additionally include blood.

In a preferred embodiment, the chitosan endoluminal hemostatic dressing (CEHD) of the invention contains preferably greater than or equal to 25% by weight chitosan; more preferably greater than or equal to 50% by weight chitosan and most preferably greater than or equal to 75% by weight chitosan. Chitosan is a generic term used to describe linear polysaccharides that are composed of glucosamine and N-acetyl glucosamine residues joined by β-(1-4) glycosidic linkages (typically the number of glucosamines ≥N-acetyl glucosamines) and whose composition is soluble in dilute aqueous acid (Roberts 1991). The chitosan family encompasses poly-β-(1-4)-N-acetyl-glucosamine and poly-β-(1-4)-N-glucosamine with the acetyl residue fraction and its motif decoration (either random or block) affecting chitosan chemistry. The C-2 amino group on the glucosamine ring in chitosan allows for protonation, and hence solubilization of chitosan in water (pKa≈6.5) (Roberts 1991). Other hydrophilic polymers such as, for example, guar, pectin, starch and polyacrylic acid may be used.

In a preferred embodiment, the dressing of the invention is polymeric, thin (preferably dry dressing thickness of about ≤500 microns, more preferably thickness of about ≤200 microns or about ≤100 microns, most preferably thickness of about ≤150 microns), flexible, porous, dry, biocompatible, tissue adherent and hemostatic. In some embodiments, the dressings are about 100 to about 150 microns in thickness, and such dressings may comprise a bilayer dressing of two about 70 micron layers (one layer that is adhesive and resistant to dissolution and one layer that is straight chitosan) with sum thickness nearer 150 microns on delivery.

The dressings are not limited in shape; however square, rectangular, circular, or circular petal shaped dressings are preferred. In one embodiment, a maximum size could be up to about 70 mm×70 mm square or 70 mm in diameter. In another embodiment, dressing size could be about 65 mm×65 mm square or 65 mm in diameter, 60 mm×60 mm square or 60 mm in diameter, 55 mm×55 mm square or 55 mm in diameter, or 50 mm×50 mm square or 50 mm in diameter, 45 mm×45 mm square or 45 mm in diameter, 40 mm×40 mm square or 40 mm in diameter, 35 mm×35 mm square or 35 mm in diameter, 30 mm×30 mm square or 30 mm in diameter, or 25 mm×25 mm square or 25 mm in diameter, etc. In still another embodiment, each of the length and width may range from about 20 mm to about 70 mm, or from about 20 mm to about 60 mm in diameter. As dressings become larger in size they become increasingly subject to delivery limitations in confined cavities.

In another preferred embodiment, the dressing is delivered by balloon catheter, and the dressing has a diameter size of about around 5 cm, or 7 cm maximum. The balloon catheter is preferably passed through a central small hole (about same diameter as catheter balloon which is generally about 4 mm to about 7 mm diameter, or the hole can be larger, e.g., up to 12 mm) in the dressing and the dressing (dressing 30 mm to 70 mm diameter) is adhered to the catheter tubing (same diameter as catheter) opposite the balloon by small dressing tabs either side of the hole. In some embodiments, the surface area change in the dressing from a folded, furled, closed or compact condition is about ⅛ of the surface area when the dressing is in an unfolding, unfurled, or uncompacted condition. Dressings described herein may provide a large dressing surface area in an open, unfurled, or unfolded condition. Alternatively, dressings described herein may provide a small dressing surface are in a closed, compact, furled, or folded condition. The ability of the dressings to be folded, furled, or closed allows them to be more compact and protected for delivery and reduces the likelihood that the dressing surface is prematurely wetted prior to delivery to a target tissue treatment site.

In a preferred embodiment, the dressing is about 100 microns thick, is about 5.0 cm in diameter, and will have an open, unfurled, or unfolded outward facing surface area of about 38.66 cm². On the balloon delivery device, a closed, compact, furled, or folded dressing 3.0 cm diameter dressing will have an outward-facing cylindrical surface area (in a 2.5 cm long cylinder) of about 5.09 cm² on a 7 mm diameter catheter balloon, and 1.85 cm² closed on a 4 mm diameter catheter balloon, but will have a surface area of about 14.0 cm² in an open, unfurled, or unfolded condition. Thus, in one example, a dressing of the present invention may, in an open, unfurled, or unfolded condition, have an outward facing surface area that is about eight (8) times greater than the outward facing surface area of that same dressing when it is in a closed, furled, or folded condition. In some embodiments, the ratio of the outward facing surface area of an open, unfurled, or unfolded to a closed, furled, or folded dressing is about 15:1, or about 14:1, or about 13:1, or about 12:1, or about 11:1, or about 10:1, or about 9:1, or about 8:1, or about 7:1, or about 6:1, or about 5:1, or about 4:1, or about 3:1, or about 2:1.

It is noted that the most common catheter balloon used with a delivery device in TURP is 0.4 cm diameter (4.0 mm) and hence this is the most preferred size for the dressing delivery. Alternatively, a more preferred size is 0.5 cm diameter, which is a standard catheter diameter for a TURP delivery device but less common than the 0.4 cm catheter. Another preferred catheter diameter size of a TURP delivery device is between 0.5 cm and 0.7 cm which is more a custom channel size and, thus, less common than the 0.4 or the 0.5 cm catheter diameter size.

A dressing as described herein is able to be folded and unfolded, is not readily soluble in blood or body fluid, such as urine, at about 37° C. within, preferably, the first 6 hours of application, more preferably the first 12 hours of application, and most preferably the first 24 hours of application, and degrades and/or dissolves fully in contact with bladder fluids at about 37° C. within about 7 days.

A dressing as described herein will not adhere to the delivery device, and does not swell or shrink appreciably, i.e., it does not increase or decrease in size by more than about 25% in length and width, or more than about 50% in thickness, in the presence of blood and urine at about 37° C.

In a preferred embodiment, the dressing may be terminally sterilized without affecting dressing characteristics. When it is stored under controlled conditions in its packaging at room temperature of about 21° C. to about 25° C., its tissue adhesion properties, mechanical properties, dissolution properties in bladder fluids, swelling properties, and hemostatic properties are stable and do not change appreciably over time (e.g., about <2 years).

A preferred embodiment, the dressing has a tissue adhesive side and a non-adhesive side. In this embodiment, the non-adhesive side may provide a surface that when wet readily slides away from itself and from any applicator or delivery device surface that is applying pressure against the dressing inside a lumen, and/or in the bladder.

A preferred embodiment of the dressing is that it is formed of a substantially dry chitosan composition with a water content of about ≤15%, or about ≤8%. The dry chitosan composition is preferably formed using phase separation and drying of an aqueous solution of chitosan and water. The dry chitosan dressing is preferably prepared in sheet form which may be cut to size.

Preferred embodiments of the biocompatible, bio-dissolvable, tissue adherent chitosan dressing are able to resist dissolution in bladder fluid and blood at about 37° C. for at least about 6 hours is tissue adherent and includes materials and material structures that promote resistance to rapid dissolution and degradation in urine of the bladder. This is a significant advantage of the chitosan dressings disclosed herein.

Chitosan dressings provided herein can be applied to a mucus surface, e.g., in the bladder by light pressure, or pressure of up to hundreds of kPa. Light pressure applied to the dressing on a tissue surface as used herein indicates a pressure that attaches and keeps a chitosan dressing in contact with an injury site without significant deflection or movement of the tissue so as to allow the chitosan dressing, through its compositional structures and characteristics, to interact to promote adherence with the injury site to stop bleeding. In some embodiments, a light pressure is a pressure at about most preferably 10 kPa or less, more preferably 25 kPa or less, or preferably 50 kPa or less (note 100 g/cm2=9.8 kPa). In TURP, pressure can be applied for, typically, three (3) mins to 180 mins since the balloon can be pressurized and left in place.

Production of Chitosan Dressing

The chitosan dressings of the present invention may be generated using various methods and processes. In some embodiments, the chitosan dressing may be formed by freeze phase separation and drying. In an alternate embodiment, the dressing is formed by addition of a foaming agent to provide a low density foam before freezing followed by drying. Freeze phase separation followed by removal of frozen solvent by sublimation is called freeze drying. Freeze phase separation is a process of solidification from dilute solution whereby removal of heat and resultant lowering of temperature through a container or mold surface holding the dilute solution results in a localized solid crystal nucleation of pure solvent and subsequent propagation and growth of pure solvent crystal. A result of the pure solvent crystal growth in a dilute solution is that solute diffuses away from the growing crystal front to solidify at the interstices between the growing crystal. Freeze phase separation of dilute polymer aqueous solutions results in alternate layers of thin polymer lamella between thicker layers of ice. Removal of the ice by methods which do not disrupt the polymer lamella results in a low-density polymer dressing with inter-connected porous structure. For example, in one embodiment, low-density polymer dressings may have an initial dressing density from about 0.005 g/cm³ to about 0.05 g/cm³.

In an alternate embodiment, the freeze phase separated dressing is formed by freezing of a foamed dilute solution followed by drying. In an alternate embodiment, the dressing is formed by non-woven fiber spinning processes, such as centrifugal spinning, electrospinning or solvent fiber extrusion into a coagulation bath. In yet another alternate embodiment, the dry dressing of the invention may be formed from a woven fiber process. In yet another alternate embodiment, the dry dressing of the invention may be formed by phase inversion and precipitation with a non-solvent (as is typically used to produce dialysis and filter membranes). In still another alternate embodiment, the dressing of the invention may be formed from an additive 3D printing process.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the dressing preparation process may include a compression process that changes the initial dressing density from an initial preferred range of about 0.005 g/cm³ to about 0.05 g/cm³ to a final preferred range of about 0.03 g/cm³ to about 0.7 g/cm³; however, ranges of about 0.08 g/cm³ to about 1.2 g/cm³ are also contemplated. It is noted that a density of about 1.5 g/cm³ is the density of void-free chitosan dressings. The compression process may include application of temperature in the range of about 20° C. to about 150° C. To avoid substantial dressing swelling of the dry compressed dressing on contact with biological fluid, the temperature of the compression is preferably applied by a method that may include but not be limited to convection, conduction and radiation, and the temperature of the compressed dressing should preferably be maintained at least about 80° C. for at least about 15 seconds.

Heat during compression is a tool that allows plasticization and molding of the chitosan without cracking or tearing of the chitosan (non-destructive molding).

The first glass transition temperature (Tg) of pure dry chitosan is near 80° C. which if processed near in the case of pure dry chitosan will allow ready non-destructive molding of the chitosan as well as some crystalline annealing of its structure. It is possible to lower the Tg by application of plasticizers such as water or glycerol to the chitosan and hence provide a similar level of non-destructive molding at lower temperature. Here, it is noted that chitosan can be molded non-destructively in the range 20° C. to 150° C. Outside of this range it would still be possible to non-destructively mold the chitosan but much more difficult. Above 150° C. the chitosan begins to thermally degrade while below 20° C., the addition of plasticizers may lead to undesirable loss of chitosan crystallinity which provides for dissolution resistance and resistance to degradative processes such as occur in sterilization.

Preferably, the compression prevents substantial swelling of the dry compressed dressing on contact with biological fluid and is performed with moisture content of the dry dressing during the compression at about <15% w/w. The compression may be applied through twin or multi-roller compression and/or uniaxially between adjacent platens.

The compression may be against a uniform flat or curved surface to provide a smooth finish to the compressed dressing.

Alternatively, the compression may be applied against an etched, machined, ablated or other type of surface treatment that imparts a depleted or added surface texture. The surface texture may be a random or it may be a regular repeated pattern. The pattern of the surface may assist in folding and unfolding or furling and unfurling the dressing and may provide for hinge-like properties in the dressing. Such texture may be used as an adjunct to quickly lock the dressing in place and stop it moving when applied. Movement of the surface of the dressing while positioned against the target tissue surface can cause filming and hence closure of the open surface structure which can lead to loss ability to remove anti-adhesive biological fluid at the surface and hence loss of ability to adhere the dressing to the surface. The timescale of the changes occurring at the dressing surface is very important such that surface uptake of fluid with significant surface dressing channel closure is highly undesirable. A good way to avoid such movement is to physically fix the dressing in place as soon as it contacts the tissue surface.

Prior to the present invention, thin solid chitosan dressings were generally rigid, not flexible enough to be bent or folded or furled without breaking, fracturing, or otherwise losing their intact shape or becoming otherwise unsuitable for use. Chitosan dressings provided herein, due to their compositional structures and characteristics, can be folded and unfolded along a folding axis while still being intact and suitable for use in stopping bleeding. Interestingly, and contrary to expectation, it has been found that chitosan dressings described herein, when folded, become less resistant to tearing or breakage along their folded seams. In some embodiments, the chitosan dressing provided herein, due to its compositional structures and characteristics, can be furled without losing its compositional structures and characteristics and still being intact and able to stop bleeding. In some embodiments, the chitosan dressing provided herein, therefore, is able to be delivered by balloon catheter along the urethra while still maintaining their compositional structures and characteristics intact. Exemplary diameters of the balloon catheter supporting the chitosan dressing can include a diameter of about 12 mm or less, and including, but not limited to, 3 mm, 3.5 mm, 4.0 mm, 4.5 mm, 5.0 mm, 5.5 mm, 6.0 mm, 6.5 mm, 7.0 mm, 7.5 mm, 8.0 mm, 8.5 mm, 9.0 mm, 9.5 mm, 10.0 mm, 10.5 mm, 11.0 mm, 11.5 mm, and 12.0 mm.

Catechol Modified Chitosan; and Its Production

The chitosan dressings described herein relate to chitosan dressings comprising catechol modified chitosan and/or hydrophilic polymers. Other aspects of chitosan dressing comprising catechol modified chitosan are described in more details below.

Preferred embodiments of the chitosan endoluminal hemostatic dressing (CEHD) of the invention include compositions with catechol modified chitosan and/or, optionally, other hydrophilic polymers. Preferably the catechol modified chitosan in the dressing provides prolonged adherence to wetted tissue with tissue adherence ≥about 1 kPa resisting dissolution in water, saline solution, blood and/or bladder fluid at about 37° C. for ≥about 6 hours. Preferably the catechol modified chitosan is formed by N-acylation of the C-2 amine on the chitosan glucosamine by 3,4-dihydroxyhydrocinnamic acid (alternatively named 3-(3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl)propionic acid, Hydrocaffeic acid)). Alternatively, the chitosan N-acylation to produce a catechol modified chitosan may include but not be limited to a modification with one of a 3,4-Dihydroxycinnamic acid (caffeic acid); a trans-3,4-Dihydroxycinnamic acid (trans-caffeic acid); and a 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC, Homoprotocatechuic acid).

The presence of catechol in the composition provides for some poly-conjugated structure as the catechol is oxidized to o-quinone. This causes visible difference between the unmodified chitosan and catechol modified chitosan compositions, which may be off-white or pink to dark brown in color, respectively. It is noted that the catechol modified chitosan compositions go from pink to brown when oxidation occurs in the catechol.

Pink coloration in the catechol modified chitosan, signifying substantial absence of crosslinking, is provided in the aqueous synthesis by maintaining pH reaction solution at or below pH 5.5. The pink coloration may also be provided in the aqueous synthesis by performing the modification and subsequent processing steps substantially in the absence of oxygen such as by using aqueous systems purged with an inert gas which may include but not be limited to argon or nitrogen. Although the pink coloration may not be desirable in the final solution or catechol modified product, it may be desirable in intermediate handling stages (such as immediately after chitosan derivatization with catechol and/or dialysis and/or washing of the subsequent catechol chitosan solution to remove residual unreacted material) because it allows for stable dry product polymer storage and dry product weight determination with subsequent ability to substantially re-dissolve the pure dry catechol modified product in water to a desired dry weight at a later time. This water-soluble chitosan catechol material is then subsequently oxidized and crosslinked (with brown coloration). However catechol modified chitosan which is dried before oxidation is not suitable for use in the chitosan dressing of the invention because dressings including such treated catechol modified chitosan are not readily redissolved and the final solution includes an undesirable mass fraction (>5% w/w) of insoluble particulate (>10 microns in diameter). Additionally catechol chitosan prepared after an intermediate freeze drying stage is more prone to early dissolution. It is noted that too much crosslinking in TURP (i.e., brown color) is less desirable as this makes the dissolution in urine take longer, for example, longer than 168 hours when the target complete dissolution is between about 72 hours to about 168 hours).

In a preferred embodiment, the catechol modified chitosan is not removed from solution by an intermediate drying step to allow for storage but rather it is kept in aqueous solution and oxidized in aqueous solution by exposure to higher than about pH 5.5 in the presence of atmospheric oxygen. Preferred pH control is achieved by adjustment of partial pressure of aqueous dissolved carbon dioxide (increased partial pressure reduces pH while decreased partial pressure increases pH to nearer pH 7). An alternative preferred means of pH control is by incremental addition of a strong acid to lower pH and a strong base to raise pH. Examples of strong acids may include, but are not limited to, hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid and nitric acid. Examples of strong bases may include but not be limited to sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide. Subsequent drying of this aqueous water-soluble oxidized catechol modified chitosan results in a preferred level of crosslinking of the catechol chitosan with good resistance to dissolution and degradation in the bladder. The catechol chitosan solution may be diluted by addition of water or concentrated by water removal. The water may be removed by the techniques including, but not limited to, ultrafiltration, reverse dialysis and centrifugation. The solid fraction of the solution may be determined by sampling a known volume from the solution and performing analyses including but not limited to gravimetry, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, refractometry, and pycnometry.

In a preferred embodiment, the catechol modified chitosan composition is of a brown color resulting from catechol oxidation to o-quinone. The quinone is produced by autoxidation of the catechol hydroxyls in the presence of oxygen and at pH above about 5.5. Schiff base reaction of quinone with chitosan C-2 amine produces crosslinking in the modified chitosan. The color of the catechol modified chitosan composition is controlled during synthesis by controlling pH and oxygen exposure. Maintenance of pH at or below about pH 5.5 inhibits the production of o-quinones. Subsequent conditioning of dialysis solution, final washed, or dialysed catechol chitosan solutions in a preferred pH range 5.8 to 6.2 provides for more dissolution resistant, darker, more oxidized catechol. In some embodiments, the coloration of catechol modified chitosan characterizes one aspect of the catechol modified chitosan dressing. In some embodiments, the coloration reflects the degree of substitution of the chitosan with catechol. In some embodiments, the coloration from pink to brown correlates with the degree of substitution. FIG. 16 shows exemplary embodiments of different colorations reflecting and correlating with different degree of substitution of the chitosan with catechol.

In order to prepare a dry dressing from the catechol chitosan, a preferred light brown to darker brown catechol aqueous chitosan solution is prepared which may be used by itself or may be mixed with other aqueous hydrophilic polymer solutions including but not limited to solutions of chitosan and/or, optionally, hydrophilic polymers. Preferably, the dry phase separated catechol chitosan dressings are prepared as densified dried freeze-phase-separated and fibrous dressing structures. Preferred crosslinked catechol modified chitosan compositions of the invention provide good tissue adherence and 10 times to 100 times increased resistance to dissolution in the bladder compared to dressings formed substantially of unmodified chitosan. For example, FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C show dissolution testing results demonstrating that chitosan dressings are gone in 15 minutes while some catechol dressings lasted greater than 24 hours. The catechol modified chitosan compositions described herein, provide hitherto unknown longevity, biocompatibility, and ability to eventually dissolve.

Preferred rapid adherence to bladder mucosa of the chitosan endoluminal hemostatic dressing (CEHD) of the invention (≤1 minute) is provided in the dry chitosan dressing by the promotion of quaternary ammonium cation formation at the chitosan glucosamine C-2 amine by the presence of an acid in the dry dressing composition. Preferred chitosan acid salts in the dressing may include salts of acetic, lactic, glycolic, citric, succinic, malic, hydrochloric, glutamic, ascorbic, malonic, glutaric, adipic, pimelic, and tartaric acids, and combinations thereof. Preferably the acid salt % weight of the chitosan is greater than about 2% and less than about 15%. To achieve fast adherence (e.g., ≤1 minute) to wet tissue, the moisture in the dry bladder dressing is preferably less than about 15% by weight; more preferably it is less than about 10% by weight and most preferably it is less than about 5% by weight.

In the case of densified freeze-phase-separated and dried chitosan dressings, the chitosan solution is poured into the freeze-phase-separation mold (typically in the shape of a pan with a horizontal flat base) with preferably around a 0.1% w/w, more preferably around 0.5% w/w and most preferably 0.25% w/w hydrophilic polymer chitosan solution. The hydrophilic polymer solution is preferably added to the horizontal flat pan to a vertical depth of preferably about 10 mm, more preferably 2.5 mm and most preferably 5.0 mm mold depth. The solution in the mold is subsequently frozen and dried to remove water by sublimation or freeze phase substitution (solvent extraction of the ice with a non-solvent to the polymer) to a low density (>99% void volume) open or porous dry sponge with a dry density <about 0.01 g/cm³ (or, for example, about 0.005 g/cm³ for a catechol chitosan uncompressed dressing from 0.5% solution, which is about 1/5 or 20% of the density of an uncompressed HemCon Bandage chitosan sponge, which is about 0.025 g/cm³). Lyophilization is typically performed at pressure below 300 mTorr while freeze substitution involving a dry, cold (e.g., <−20° C.) solvent such as ethanol is performed at atmospheric pressure. The dry sponges are then compressed, preferably to greater than about 0.4 g/cm³ density and less than about 100 microns thickness. The preferred compression is not limited to but may include uni-axial compression between aligned flat platens, wherein the platens are heated between 18° C. and 150° C. and are pressure loading up to 10,000 bar.

The preferred compression creates a remarkably thin (e.g., range from about ≤50 microns to about ≤200 microns) strong (e.g., 5 MPa to 25 MPa UTS) readily foldable chitosan dressing that may be placed minimally invasively anywhere in the body in a confined folded form that can be reformed without compromised performance to the original unfolded dressing form for accurate and effective high surface area placement and attachment.

Foldability is addressed in the examples below. In one embodiment, fold testing involved folding the horizontally planar final compressed circular dressing through 180° edge over edge, first in an anticlockwise direction, holding the edges together and compressing firmly in the middle of the dressing to create a single linear fold axis (or crease) in the dressing. The folded dressing is then opened and the edge to edge fold is reproduced in the new fold axis but with the folding in the opposite clockwise direction. Foldability success can be rated as no tears or cracks being visible along the fold axis and no significant loss in tensile properties of the dressing (determined by gentle pulling across the fold of the dressing). FIG. 17 shows a catechol modified chitosan dressing that has been folded and unfolded, remaining intact, with visible fold axis (crease).

Freeze phase separation of dilute aqueous polymeric solutions results in phase separation of micron and submicron thin polymeric chitosan lamella interspersed regularly between ice crystal sheets close to 200 microns in width. Removal of the ice by sublimation (freeze drying) or alternatively by solvent extraction leaves the dry sponge composed of close-to-aligned, thin (≤1 micron), polymeric chitosan lamella. Compression of the polymeric chitosan lamella at close to or greater than their glass transition temperature (Tg for dry chitosan is near 80° C). allows for their compression into the thin (near 50 microns) dense polymeric structure formed of layers of hundreds of strong compliant polymeric chitosan leaves (lamella) which do not readily propagate cracks and which can be folded repeatably without failure. Such multi-leaf layering achieves remarkable strength. Prior to the present invention, no one has previously investigated high-density freeze-phase-separated chitosan dressings for manufacture and use as described herein and with the aim to address key problems solved by the present invention such as, for example, adhesion by removal of interfering fluids (by absorption, channeling, displacement, and/or re-direction), ability to form a fold axis and ability to resist mechanical failure on repeated folding and unfolding along the fold axis.

In one embodiment, porosity (void space >99%) is complete and uninterrupted in the non-compressed dressing with pore size range of 20-300 microns with substantially most of the pores near 100-200 microns. The un-interrupted pore structure is indicated in the compressed dressings by their ability to absorb biological fluid such as blood.

In some embodiments, crack free, clean edge holes near 500 microns in diameter may be formed in the dressing after compression by localized application of narrow gauge (near 500 microns in diameter), sharp pointed needle through the dressing and into a flat, hard elastomeric surface applied immediately against the dressing which may receive and release the point of the needle. Preferred receiving support flat surfaces include but are not limited to clean, dry thermoplastic elastomers with Shore 55 D to 90 D in hardness. Alternative methods of hole formation may include but not be limited to use of a small diameter (near 500 microns) hole punch or a laser cut hole.

In some embodiments, chitosan dressing provided herein has holes in the dressing. In some embodiments, the holes receive fiber or other reinforcing attachment elements. Such a reinforcing element may be formed by simple local application of a reinforcing fluid to locally bind with the edges of the holes. A reinforcing fluid used in the development of the present invention included cyanoacrylate glue which bound the compressed chitosan lamella of the dressing together and prevented local delamination and fibrillation of the chitosan at the hole stress point. Another embodiment of a hole reinforcing element is micro-molded interlocking parts of plastic or metal (dissolvable in the bladder or alternate area in the body of application) that are placed on one side of the hole and the opposite hole side to permanently fit together and be able to support load through the hole without causing dressing delamination, fibrillation or other stress related failure at the dressing hole when loaded. In some embodiments, the micro molded parts may include the part on the side of the attachment to a delivery device that enables convenient snap-on attachment and snap-off detachment of the dressing to the delivery device.

As used herein, the term fold axis is intended as part of the dressing sheet which demonstrates memory in the material of bending stress and or folding and is typically localized to narrow regions of high bending stress and shear. A crease in folded paper is an example of a fold axis.

In a preferred embodiment, the tissue adhesive component of the dressing is formed from a freeze phase separated and dried chitosan sheet with composition including a catechol chitosan. In a preferred embodiment the non-tissue adhesive component of the dressing is formed from a freeze phase separated chitosan dried sheet without any modified chitosan. In a preferred embodiment, both tissue adhesive and non-tissue adhesive dry sheets have density ≤about 0.03 g/cm³ before compression to final density ≥about 0.4 g/cm³.

In order to prepare one dressing from both sheets with the dressing having a tissue adhesive surface layer and a non-adhesive surface layer, the two sheets are bonded together by, for example, placing one sheet on top of the other and applying sufficient uniform pressure over the dressings to compress them to a higher density. In a preferred process, the original densities of each sheet type at ≤about 0.03 g/cm³ is increased to a final dressing density ≥about 0.30 g/cm³. In a more preferred process, the original densities of each sheet type at ≤about 0.015 g/cm³ is increased to a final dressing density ≥about 0.4 g/cm³. In a most preferred process, the original densities of each sheet type at ≤about 0.01 g/cm³ is increased to a final dressing density ≥about 0.5 g/cm³. At the conclusion of the compression, the two compressed sheets are bonded together so that one cannot be readily peeled away from the other and the dressing can be manipulated by folding and furling without any occurrence of separation. This physical adherence of materials by compression of two or more low density porous materials together to form a final two or more layer porous material of higher density solves a difficult problem of how to adhere such materials together without physical or chemical change to the individual materials and without addition of further bonding agents or adherents. It is contemplated that bonding may be attributed to microsurface impingement and penetration of the dressings through their pores with physical interlocking due to pore compression. This physical interlocking of low density, freeze phase separated, dry sheets is not restricted to two materials of the same thickness or to only two layers since the interlocking effect is neither sidedness nor thickness dependent. Therefore a multi-layered construct of individual freeze phase separated and dried sheets of the same or different materials of the same or different thickness may be formed by layering the low density sheets (preferably with density ≤0.05 g/cm³) and compressing the assembly together to a density ≥0.3 g/cm3). Such a final physically adhered assembly would be expected to provide advantages of thin top and bottom surface layers including but not limited to adhering or anti-adhering materials with layers inside providing including but not limited to structural, physical and chemical elements.

In some embodiments, a chitosan dressing has an adhesive side and a non-adhesive side. In some embodiments, the adhesive side of the chitosan adheres to a tissue and absorbs and/or redirects the surface moisture. In some embodiments, the non-adhesive side detaches from a delivery device upon attachment of the chitosan dressing to the injury site wherein the chitosan dressing has become wet. This is in part because the adhesion strength of the chitosan dressing to the tissue surface controls the dressing location upon detachment of the dressing from the delivery device. Detach or “readily detach” as used herein in a two-sided chitosan dressing indicates that the chitosan dressing, with its adherent side applied to a tissue surface or an injury site and adhered due to absorbance of moisture, stays at the tissue surface or injury site while the non-adherent side releases from the delivery device, thereby allowing the delivery device to be retracted from the injury site without disrupting the position of the chitosan dressing on the tissue surface or injury site. In some embodiments, the chitosan dressing, when dry, attaches to the delivery device, thereby allowing delivery of the chitosan dressing along with the device onto an injury site.

In one embodiment, there is a need to attach the dressing locally to the delivery device. Generally, these local attachment areas are at the extremity of the dressing. For example, one design is to provide for local pinpoint attachment on the dressing extremity tabs at the circumference of the dressing and for no other attachment locations to avoid the risk of attaching the dressing to the delivery sheath, the delivery device, or itself (when furled/folded). The attachment locations may be designed to weaken when wet or alternatively be activated for release by some type of physical release mechanism.

In one mechanism, chitosan dressing provided in this disclosure is able to stop bleeding by absorbing, channeling, and/or redirecting the hydrophilic and hydrophobic fluids at an injury site. The absorption clears enough moisture from the injury site to allow subsequent hemostatic reactions between the chitosan dressing and the tissue at the injury site, which in turn stops bleeding and allows the chitosan dressing to stay attached; thus, sealing the injury site. The porous, dense, and multi-layer structure of chitosan dressing provided herein facilitates the absorption, channeling, and/or redirection of the moisture at the injury site, and the attachment or adherence of the chitosan dressing to the injury site.

The chitosan dressing disclosed herein is biocompatible. In some embodiments, the dissolved residue from a chitosan dressing applied to an injury site in vivo passes safely through the urethra and is excreted along with other bodily waste.

More than one, or multiple, chitosan dressings may be used or applied in serial fashion to a tissue treatment site or injury site. When more than one chitosan dressing is deployed, such dressings may separately adhere to adjacent tissue site or injury site areas, or may overlap with each other to varying extents. Due to the thinness of the chitosan dressing described herein, depending on the application, it is contemplated that multiple chitosan dressings may be used as needed to promote or achieve hemostasis of an injury site.

In one embodiment, the chitosan dressings overlap one another upon application. In such an instance, ideally there would be some adherence of the wetted adhesive side of the subsequent dressing to the wetted dressing backing of the earlier dressing. Accordingly, in one embodiment, the chitosan dressing does not have an anti-adherent backing but does have a backing with a weak wet adherence that provides for sufficient adherence for placement of a subsequent overlapping chitosan dressing.

Delivery Device

A delivery device, as used herein, is a device for delivering a dressing, such as a chitosan dressing, to injury sites at different locations in the body of an animal including human, pigs, dogs, etc.

In some embodiments, a delivery device can deliver a dressing, e.g., a chitosan dressing, to a physiological site in the body of an animal, in non-invasive or minimally invasive manner. In some embodiments, the delivery device is a balloon device such as, for example, a double balloon catheter. In some embodiments, the delivery device is a wire device or a device laser-cut from a small diameter cylinder of nitinol or stainless steel. In some embodiments, the non-invasive or minimally invasive feature of the delivery device is achieved through delivery of a dressing, e.g., a chitosan dressing, through a narrow catheter or a comparable working channel. In some embodiments, the balloon catheter or the comparable working channel has a diameter that is less than about 7 mm. In other embodiments, a channel of a TURP delivery device may range in diameter size from 5 mm to 7mm.

Exemplary delivery devices include, but are not limited to, a balloon device, a balloon catheter, a wire device, a cylindrical device with laser-cut ends, a indwelling catheter, a urethral or suprapubic catheter, an external catheter, a short-term catheter, and an intermittent catheter.

A delivery device can also be a transluminal or transurethral delivery device. In some embodiments, the transurethral delivery device is non-invasive or minimally invasive due to a narrow catheter or tube/tubing or a similarly narrow-diameter portion of the device.

Delivery devices include other devices with narrow-diameter tubings or catheters or similar structures.

Attachment of the Dressing to the Delivery Device

TURP dressing attachment to the device, for example, a balloon catheter, is relatively simple. In one embodiment, the circular dressing is folded once over itself edge to edge and then the folded dressing (now half) is folded once again edge to edge of itself (now a quarter). The dressing is unfolded and now there are two fold lines passing through the middle of the dressing. A tracing of the circumference of the catheter is drawn in the middle of the dressing (a small central circle). A scissors point or other sharp cutting instrument is used to cut along the intersecting fold lines in the middle of the dressing up to the drawn circumference of the catheter. Once the fold lines have been cut there are now four triangular windows or catheter connection tabs in the middle of the dressing. The catheter can be threaded thru the central opening in the dressing and the dressing tabs can be attached by double sided adhesive tape or other adhesive method of application to secure the tabs against the desired location of the catheter to set the bulk of the dressing over and against the catheter balloon. The dressing tabs are preferably placed on the side of the dressing facing away from the catheter balloon over which the dressing is to be folded. Preferably the adhesive used to attach the tabs to the catheter is water soluble to allow the dressing to slide off the catheter and be left in place (with optional catheter removal) after a pressure application by balloon catheter. In some alternative implementations, instead of an adhesive, a releasable mechanical device such as one or more mechanical release ties, can be used to releasably couple the dressing to a balloon catheter.

After the dressing is attached to an injury site and well adhered to the patient's tissues, the water soluble adhesive or the mechanical device coupling the dressing to the balloon catheter can then release the dressing to allow the dressing to stay in place when the catheter is removed. In some implementations, the catheter may be left in place for some additional time with the proximal balloon deflated and with the distal balloon left inflated to cause the catheter to remain in the urethra. Such implementations can allow the catheter to remain in the urethra without uncomfortable traction to assist in urine drainage and to allow a physician to monitor hematocrit in the urine (absence of hematocrit indicates hemostasis).

Applications and Methods of Treatment

The chitosan dressing provided in this disclosure may be used to stop bleeding in suitable diseases, conditions, disorders, or emergent traumas or injuries. In some embodiments, the dressing may be used to stop bleeding from any wet physiological surface, e.g., mucus or bladder fluid covered surfaces. Exemplary applications include, but are not limited to, bladder bleeding, other intraluminal applications, including vascular applications, internal surgical bleeding, internal biopsy bleeding, internal bleeding following parenchymal organ resection, and oral, ocular, auditory or nasal bleeding. Additional applications that might require addition of water or fluid to encourage adhesion of the chitosan dressing to a tissue surface or injury site are also contemplated, for example, use of the chitosan dressing on external body surfaces.

Chitosan dressings of the present invention may be used for treatment of transurethral prostatectomy and or bladder neck bleeding that may include but not be limited to treatment of bleeding.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. All of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications and non-patent publications referred to in this specification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet, including U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/612,009 filed Dec. 29, 2017, are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet further embodiments.

These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.

CEHD Delivery Device Design

A preferred embodiment of a CEHD delivery device for post-operative treatment of transurethral prostatectomy (TURP) and a suitable mode to deliver CEHD will be by balloon catheter delivery. Standard of care for bleeding control in TURP is placement of Foley balloon catheter in the urethra and its location over the prostatic injury site with balloon inflation to apply localized pressure at the injury site for 24 hours or as long as bleeding control is required.

The balloon catheter device for CEHD delivery is preferably a double balloon device with the first balloon (distal) provided for inflation in the bladder while the second balloon (proximal) supports the CEHD that is placed around the balloon. The first balloon, once inflated, is used to position the uninflated second balloon and CEHD with low tension along the catheter so that the first inflated balloon sits against the bladder neck and the second balloon (or delivery balloon) containing the CEHD is aligned with the prostate cavity injury.

The CEHD may be attached to the uninflated delivery balloon by a releasable tape which remains part of the catheter, or it may be furled around the uninflated balloon. The CEHD is typically applied to the delivery balloon during final assembly of the device, prior to application of a sheath, packaging and terminal sterilization. Prior to introduction of the catheter to the location of the injury through the urethra, the delivery balloon and CEHD are protected by a close-fitting, water impermeable sheath that can be removed intact immediately prior to delivery balloon inflation. Delivery by (second) balloon inflation after removal of the sheath covering provides for application of the tissue adhesive side of the CEHD against the injured prostate tissue surface. It is anticipated that about three minutes to about 120 minutes of uniform tissue adhesive surface contact of the CEHD to the injured tissue surface will allow for uniform moderate to strong covalent binding of the catechol modified chitosan to the injury site. Intimate wet tissue adhesion of the CEHD dressing will result in immediate control of bleeding, protection of the injury site and promotion of injury healing. Once the CEHD dressing is adhered to the injury site, a decision may be made to either leave the catheter in place or to remove the catheter leaving the CEHD dressing in place to control bleeding, protect the injury site and promote healing. The CEHD is designed to dissolve away in the urethra over about 96 to about 168 hours, allowing the urethra to remain patent with ability to control the passage of urine as needed.

The removable sheath is provided to prevent the CEHD from premature contact with any liquids during the process of balloon location at the site of injury prior to sheath removal and ultimate delivery of the CEHD to the injury site. Such premature liquid contact with activation of the dressing could result in adherence to the wrong tissue or cause undesirable fouling of the CEHD surface. The removable sheath located over the CEHD is water impermeable. It is preferably formed from a transparent, biocompatible polymer film material that can be sterilized at ≥about 25 kGy, is uniformly water impermeable, ultimate tensile strength at about 25±3° C. is preferably ≥about 10 MPa and ≤25 about MPa, and % elongation to failure is preferably ≥about 3% and ≤about 25%. Preferably the inside surface of the removable sheath is sufficiently lubricious without use of wetting agents to allow dry, clean sliding passage of the sheath surface over the CEHD and balloon catheter surfaces as the sheath is located either on or off the catheter assembly. Preferably the outside surface of the removable sheath is sufficiently lubricious dry, or wet with water to allow unhindered sliding passage of the sheath surface through urethra and area of injury without transfer of any bound lubrication and or bound wetting agent from the sheath or without need for any other external lubrication agent. The removable sheath may be formed of a cylinder that closely fits around the CEHD and balloon. The distal end of the cylinder may be closed and impermeable to water and this end may fit over the distal end of the balloon catheter and over the first balloon. The proximal end of the cylinder will contain the proximal end of the balloon catheter which is not placed into the urethra and this end may be left open. Alternatively, the distal end of the sheath cylinder may be initially left open to be adhered to the balloon catheter surface to create a water impermeable seal on the balloon catheter at the distal end of the second balloon.

The distal end of the sheath enclosing and protecting the CEHD may be released from attachment to, or enclosing, the balloon catheter by complete, localized, circumferential rupture of the distal end of the sheath. Such localized rupture may be accomplished by application of a tearing pull thread positioned distally and circumferentially at the desired location. The other end of the pull thread would be located at the open proximal end of the sheath. The sheath may be weakened distally, and circumferentially by local reduction in the sheath wall thickness such that application, either of a tearing thread, or induced loading at that location would result in the desired complete circumferential sheath rupture. The induced loading may be accomplished by moderate balloon inflation (first balloon in the case of the distal closed sheath cylinder end; second balloon in the case of the distal cylinder end adhered to the catheter distal to the second balloon) or by pulling of the sheath end outside of the urethra in a proximal direction. To avoid premature detachment of the sheath during passage of the catheter through the urethra, the friction load on the sheath during placement of the catheter will be significantly below (≤about ⅓) the designed distal end circumferential rupture used to remove the sheath. Once the distal end of the sheath is released, then pulling of the proximal end of the sheath out of the urethra would result in removal of the sheath from the delivery balloon and provide for unhindered application of the CEHD against the injury site surface by balloon pressure. Removal of the sheath may also be facilitated by local longitudinal sheath wall thinning from distal end to proximal end of the sheath. Such longitudinal wall thinning or weakening as a single longitudinal line or multiple longitudinal lines provides for ability to remove the sheath rapidly and completely from the catheter balloon in a single, or in multiple long complete strips while the balloon is present inside the urethra. One option to ensure that the longitudinal strips of the ruptured sheath do not tear circumferentially when being withdrawn is to apply longitudinal sheath reinforcement in the ruptured sheaths. Such longitudinal reinforcement might include higher modulus adherent strips or fiber within or adhered on the sheath.

CEHD Foley Catheter Delivery Balloon Design

A preferred embodiment in the treatment of transurethral prostatectomy (TURP) and a suitable mode of CEHD delivery will be by balloon delivery. Standard of care for bleeding control in TURP is placement of Foley catheter balloon in the urethra and its location over the prostatic injury site with balloon inflation to apply localized pressure at the injury site for 24 hours or as long as bleeding control is required.

The balloon catheter device for CEHD delivery is preferably a double balloon device with the first balloon (distal) provided for inflation in the bladder while the second balloon (proximal) supports the CEHD that is placed around the balloon. The first balloon, once inflated, is used to position the uninflated second balloon and CEHD with low tension along the catheter so that the first inflated balloon sits against the bladder neck and the second balloon (or delivery balloon) containing the CEHD is aligned with the prostate injury.

The CEHD may be attached to the uninflated delivery balloon by a releasable tape which remains part of the catheter, or it may be furled around the uninflated balloon. The CEHD is typically applied to the delivery balloon during final assembly of the device, prior to application of sheath, packaging and terminal sterilization. Prior to introduction of the catheter to the location of the injury through the urethra, the delivery balloon and CEHD are protected by a close-fitting, water impermeable sheath that can be removed intact immediately prior to delivery balloon inflation. Delivery by (second) balloon inflation after removal of the sheath covering provides for application of the tissue adhesive side of the CEHD against the injured prostate tissue surface. It is anticipated that about three minutes to about 120 minutes of uniform tissue adhesive surface contact of the CEHD to the injured tissue surface will allow for uniform moderate to strong covalent binding of the catechol modified chitosan to the injury site. Intimate wet tissue adhesion of the CEHD dressing will result in immediate control of bleeding, protection of the injury site and promotion of injury healing. Once the CEHD dressing is adhered to the injury site, a decision may be made to either leave the catheter in place or to remove the catheter leaving the CEHD dressing in place to control bleeding, protect the injury site and promote healing. The CEHD is designed to dissolve away in the urethra over about 96 to about 168 hours, allowing the urethra to remain patent with ability to control the passage of urine as needed.

The removable sheath is provided to prevent the CEHD from premature contact with any liquids during the process of balloon location at the site of injury prior to sheath removal and ultimate delivery of the CEHD to the injury site. Such premature liquid contact with activation of the dressing could result in adherence to the wrong tissue or cause undesirable fouling of the CEHD surface. The removable sheath located over the CEHD is water impermeable. It is preferably formed from a transparent, biocompatible polymer film material that can be sterilized at ≥about 25 kGy, is uniformly water impermeable, ultimate tensile strength at about 25±3° C. is preferably ≥about 10 MPa and ≤about 25 MPa, and % elongation to failure is preferably ≥about 3% and ≤about 25%. Preferably the inside surface of the removable sheath is sufficiently lubricious without use of wetting agents to allow dry, clean sliding passage of the sheath surface over the CEHD and balloon catheter surfaces as the sheath is located either on or off the catheter assembly. Preferably the outside surface of the removable sheath is sufficiently lubricious dry, or wet with water to allow unhindered sliding passage of the sheath surface through the urethra and area of injury without transfer of any bound lubrication and or bound wetting agent from the sheath or without need for any other external lubrication agent. The removable sheath may be formed of a cylinder that closely fits around the CEHD and balloon. The distal end of the cylinder may be closed and impermeable to water and this end may fit over the distal end of the balloon catheter and over the first balloon. The proximal end of the cylinder will contain the proximal end of the balloon catheter which is not placed into the urethra and this end may be left open. Alternatively, the distal end of the sheath cylinder may be initially left open to be adhered to the balloon catheter surface to create a water impermeable seal on the balloon catheter at the distal end of the second balloon. The distal end of the sheath enclosing and protecting the CEHD may be released from attachment to, or enclosing, the balloon catheter by complete, localized, circumferential rupture of the distal end of the sheath. Such localized rupture may be accomplished by application of a tearing pull thread positioned distally and circumferentially at the desired location. The other end of the pull thread would be located at the open proximal end of the sheath. The sheath may be weakened distally, and circumferentially by local reduction in the sheath wall thickness such that application, either of a tearing thread, or induced loading at that location would result in the desired complete circumferential sheath rupture. The induced loading may be accomplished by moderate balloon inflation (first balloon in the case of the distal closed sheath cylinder end; second balloon in the case of the distal cylinder end adhered to the catheter distal to the second balloon) or by pulling of the sheath end outside of the urethra in a proximal direction. To avoid premature detachment of the sheath during passage of the catheter through the urethra, the friction load on the sheath during placement of the catheter will be significantly below (<⅓) the designed distal end circumferential rupture used to remove the sheath. Once the distal end of the sheath is released then pulling of the proximal end of the sheath out of the urethra would result in removal of the sheath from the delivery balloon and provide for unhindered application of the CEHD against the injury site surface by balloon pressure. Removal of the sheath may also be facilitated by local longitudinal sheath wall thinning from distal end to proximal end of the sheath. Such longitudinal wall thinning or weakening as a single longitudinal line or multiple longitudinal lines provides for ability to remove the sheath rapidly and completely from the catheter balloon in a single, or in multiple long complete strips while the balloon is present inside the urethra. One option to ensure that the longitudinal strips of the ruptured sheath do not tear circumferentially when being withdrawn is to apply longitudinal sheath reinforcement in the ruptured sheaths. Such longitudinal reinforcement might include higher modulus adherent strips or fiber within or adhered on the sheath.

FIGS. 2A-2I illustrate a method of preparing a dressing as described herein and an associated delivery system for delivering the dressing to a desired location within a patient's body. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the dressing may have an overall circular shape and four fold lines, each of which extends along a diameter of the circle and through the center of the circle, and which together evenly divide the circular shape into eight equal-area segments of the overall circular shape. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, an operator can cut a cross along two perpendicular fold lines at the center of the dressing to create a cruciform-shaped opening at the center of the dressing. As illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2C, the operator can then fold the dressing along all four of the fold lines to form peaks along two perpendicular fold lines and valleys along the other two perpendicular fold lines when the dressing is viewed on-end.

As the dressing is folded up in this manner, the dressing eventually forms four dual-layered arms that extend radially outward from a centerline of the dressing, with the cruciform-shaped opening at one end of the dressing along the centerline of the dressing. As illustrated in FIG. 2D, the operator can then extend the distal end of a delivery system, such as a balloon catheter, first through the cruciform-shaped opening and then through the rest of the body of the dressing along the centerline of the dressing until the dressing is located radially outward from, and extends circumferentially around a balloon of the balloon catheter. As illustrated in FIGS. 2E-2G, the operator can then wrap the four arms of the dressing into a spiral configuration about the rest of the delivery system to reduce the overall profile of the delivery system combined with the dressing. As illustrated in FIGS. 2H and 2I, a protective sheath can then be positioned to surround the delivery system and the dressing to prepare the delivery system and dressing for delivery to a location inside a patient's body.

In some embodiments, the delivery system may be a single balloon catheter having a single independently actuatable balloon, and the dressing may be positioned on, or over, or directly radially outward from, the balloon. FIGS. 1A-1D illustrate operation of such a single balloon catheter to deliver the dressing to a desired location inside a patient's bladder. For example, FIG. 1A illustrates that the balloon catheter can be inserted into the patient's urethra and extended through the urethra until the balloon of the balloon catheter is located within the patient's bladder. Once the balloon of the balloon catheter is located within the patient's bladder, the distal end of the protective sheath can be ruptured and then withdrawn along the length of the balloon catheter through the patient's urethra. Once the protective sheath is removed in this manner, the balloon catheter can be actuated to inflate and expand the balloon, and can be retracted proximally so that the inflated balloon rests against the neck of the patient's bladder, as illustrated in FIG. 1A. This may press the dressing against the wall of the patient's bladder and hold the dressing in place, such as adjacent to the neck of the bladder, such as to adhere the dressing to the wall of the patient's bladder, such as to repair an injury and/or prevent bleeding at such a location, as illustrated in FIGS. 1B-1D. Once the dressing has been delivered in this manner, the balloon can be deflated and the balloon catheter can be retracted out of the patient's bladder through the urethra.

In other embodiments, the delivery system may be a double balloon catheter having two independently actuatable balloons, a first, distal balloon, and a second, proximal balloon, and the dressing may be positioned on, or over, or directly radially outward from, the proximal balloon. FIGS. 1E-1G illustrate operation of such a double or dual balloon catheter to deliver the dressing to a desired location inside a patient's bladder. For example, FIG. 1E illustrates that the balloon catheter can be inserted into the patient's urethra and extended through the urethra until the balloons of the balloon catheter are located within the patient's bladder. Once the balloons of the balloon catheter are located within the patient's bladder, the distal end of the protective sheath can be ruptured and then withdrawn along the length of the balloon catheter through the patient's urethra. Once the protective sheath is removed in this manner, the balloon catheter can be actuated to inflate and expand the distal balloon, and can be retracted proximally so that the inflated balloon rests against the neck of the patient's bladder, as illustrated in FIG. 1F. In some implementations, the sheath is not ruptured and removed prior to inflation of the distal balloon, and inflation of the distal balloon ruptures the sheath and allows the sheath to be removed along the length of the balloon catheter through the patient's urethra.

These actions may leave the proximal balloon and the dressing adjacent a resected prostatic fossa. Once the distal balloon is inflated and the protective sheath is removed in this manner, the balloon catheter can be actuated to inflate and expand the proximal balloon. This may expand and unfold or unfurl and press the dressing against a wall of the patient's bladder, urethra, and/or resected prostatic fossa, and hold the dressing in place, such as adjacent to the resected prostatic fossa, such as to adhere the dressing to the resected prostatic fossa, such as to repair an injury and/or prevent bleeding at such a location, as illustrated in FIG. 1G. Once the dressing has been delivered in this manner, the balloons can be deflated and the balloon catheter can be retracted out of the patient's bladder through the urethra.

FIGS. 3A-3F illustrate systems and methods for operating a double balloon catheter to deliver a dressing to a patient. For example, an upper portion of FIG. 3A illustrates a double balloon catheter and a lower portion of FIG. 3A illustrates a larger view of portions of FIG. 3A. The left side portion of FIG. 3B illustrates an end view of a partially-folded dressing, and a right side portion of FIG. 3B illustrates a side view of a partially-folded dressing. The upper portion of FIG. 3C illustrates a partially folded dressing positioned on a balloon catheter, and the lower portion of FIG. 3C illustrates a completely folded dressing positioned on a balloon catheter with a sheath surrounding the dressing and the balloon catheter. FIG. 3D illustrates the dressing, balloon catheter, and sheath of the lower portion of FIG. 3C positioned within a patient's urethra and bladder. FIG. 3E illustrates another completely folded dressing positioned on a balloon catheter with a sheath surrounding the dressing and the balloon catheter. FIG. 3F illustrates the dressing, balloon catheter, and sheath of FIG. 3E positioned within a patient's urethra and bladder.

In some implementations, a pair of dressings can be loaded onto a balloon catheter, such as onto a single balloon of a balloon catheter, largely in accordance with the description above for loading a single dressing onto a balloon of a balloon catheter. For example, an operator can obtain two dressings in accordance with the description above. The operator can cut a cross along two perpendicular fold lines at the center of each of the two dressings to create a cruciform-shaped opening at the center of each of the dressings. The operator can then fold each of the dressings along their respective fold lines as described above. As the dressings are folded up in this manner, each of the dressings forms four dual-layered arms that extend radially outward from a centerline of the dressing, with the cruciform-shaped opening at one end of the dressing along the centerline of the dressing. A bottom portion of FIG. 4 illustrates two dressings partially folded in this manner without openings cut at the centers of the dressings.

The operator can then extend the distal end of a balloon catheter, first through the cruciform-shaped opening and then through the rest of the body of a first one of the dressings along the centerline of the first one of the dressings until the first one of the dressings is located radially outward from, and extends circumferentially around a balloon of the balloon catheter. The operator can then extend the distal end of the balloon catheter, first through the end thereof opposite to the cruciform-shaped opening and then through the rest of the body and out of the cruciform-shaped opening of a second one of the dressings along the centerline of the second one of the dressings until the second one of the dressings is located radially outward from, and extends circumferentially around a balloon of the balloon catheter. In such implementations, the first and second ones of the dressings may be mounted onto the balloon catheter over the same, or over different balloons of the balloon catheter. The operator can then wrap the four arms of each of the dressings into a spiral configuration about the rest of the delivery system to reduce the overall profile of the delivery system combined with the dressings. A protective sheath can then be positioned to surround the delivery system and the dressings to prepare the delivery system and dressings for delivery to a location inside a patient's body.

In some embodiments, the delivery system may be a single balloon catheter having a single independently actuatable balloon, and the first and second ones of the dressings may be positioned on, or over, or directly radially outward from, the balloon. A top portion of FIG. 4 illustrates operation of such a single balloon catheter to deliver the two dressings to a desired location inside a patient's bladder. For example, the top portion of FIG. 4 illustrates that the balloon catheter can be inserted into the patient's urethra and extended through the urethra until the balloon of the balloon catheter is located within a resected prostatic fossa adjacent the patient's bladder. Once the balloon of the balloon catheter is located within the resected prostatic fossa in this manner, the distal end of the protective sheath can be ruptured and then withdrawn along the length of the balloon catheter through the patient's urethra. Once the protective sheath is removed in this manner, the balloon catheter can be actuated to inflate and expand the balloon. This may press the dressings against the walls of the resected prostatic fossa adjacent to the patient's bladder and hold the dressings in place, such as adjacent to the neck of the bladder, such as to adhere the dressings to the wall of the resected prostatic fossa, such as to repair an injury and/or prevent bleeding at such a location. Once the dressings have been delivered in this manner, the balloon can be deflated and the balloon catheter can be retracted out of the patient's body through the urethra.

EXAMPLES

The following materials and preparations were considered in the chitosan endoluminal hemostatic dressing inventive process.

Chitosan A: Primex ChitoClear 65010, TM 4375, MW=250-300 kDa, Brookfield

Chitosan B: Primex ChitoClear 43000, TM 4167, MW=110-150 kDa, Brookfield viscosity in 1.0% w/w chitosan solution in 1.0% acetic acid at 25° C. and spindle LV1=9 cPs, DDA=95% (by colloidal titration).

Glacial acetic acid: Fisher Scientific, Catalogue No. A38-212.

Hydrochloric acid: 1.0 M aqueous solution Sigma Aldrich, Catalogue No. H9892.

L-Lactic acid: JT Baker, Catalogue No. 0196-01.

Glycolic acid: JT Baker, Catalogue No. M821-05.

Sodium hydroxide: 5.0 M NaOH aqueous solution Sigma Aldrich, Catalogue No. 58263-150m1.

Potassium hydroxide: 0.1 M KOH in methanol (BDH).

Ethanol: 200° Proof Sigma Aldrich, Catalogue No. 459844-1L.

Acetic anhydride: ACS reagent grade obtained from Sigman Aldrich, Catalogue No. 320102-1L.

3,4-Dihydroxyhydrocinnamic acid (hydrocaffeic acid): 98% Sigma Aldrich, Catalogue No. 102601.

3,4-Dihydroxycinnamic acid (caffeic acid): 98% Sigma Aldrich Catalogue No. C0625

trans-3 ,4-Dihydroxycinnamic acid (trans-caffeic acid): Sigma Aldrich Catalogue No. 51868

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC, Homoprotocatechuic acid): 98% Sigma Aldrich Catalogue No. 850217.

1-ethyl-3-(-3-dimethylamino-propyl)-carbodiimide: (alternatively N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride with common acronym EDC) Sigma Aldrich, Cat. # E7750.

N-acetyl-L-cysteine Sigma Aldrich, Catalogue No. A7250

Sodium Chloride Sigma Aldrich, Catalogue No. 793566-500g.

Glycerol: Sigma Aldrich, Catalogue No. G-8773.

Polyethylene glycol: Spectrum, Catalogue No. P0108.

Polyethylene oxide: Mw 400,000 da, Sigma Aldrich Catalogue No. 372773-500G.

Poloxamer 407: Spectrum, Catalogue No. P1166.

Sucrose: Sigma Catalogue No. S3929.

D-Sorbitol: Sigma Catalogue S1876

Hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC): Aldrich Catalogue No. 191892

Hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC): Aldrich Catalogue No. 308633.

Synthetic urine formulation: Add calcium chloride dihydrate Sigma Catalogue No. C5080 (1.30 g); magnesium chloride hexahydrate Sigma Catalogue No. M2670 (1.30 g); sodium chloride Sigma Catalogue No. 793566 (9.20 g); sodium sulphate Aldrich Catalogue No. 238597 (4.60 g); sodium citrate dihydrate Sigma catalogue No. S4641 (1.30 g); sodium oxalate Sigma Catalogue No. 71800 (0.04 g); potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate Sigma Catalogue No. P5655 (5.60 g); potassium chloride Fisher Catalogue No. BP366 (3.20 g); ammonium chloride Sigma Catalogue No.09718 (2.00 g); urea Sigma catalogue No. U1250 (50.00 g); creatinine Acros Catalogue No. 228940500 (2.20 g) to a 2.0 liter volumetric flask and add 1.5 liters of deionized water to dissolve. After dissolution of ingredients in water and equilibration of solution temperature to room temperature, make up to 2.0 L mark with deionized water.

Porcine bladder with urethra, Animal Biotech Industries Inc., (Danboro, Pa. 18916)

Porcine small intestine casing, Butcher & Packer (29/32 mm) (Madison Heights, Mich. 48071)

Citrated bovine whole blood: Lampire Biological Laboratory Bovine CPD, Catalogue No. 7720010.

Cynaoacrylate A: Permabond 910 Tissue Adhesive, Catalogue No. 72590.

Cyanoacrylate B: Loctite 4902 instant adhesive Catalogue No. 1875841

Dialysis Tubing: 3,500 Da MWCO Snakeskin Dialysis Tubing (Fisher Scientific), Catalogue No. PI88244.

Parafilm: “M” Laboratory film, Pechiney plastic packaging (Chicago, Ill. 60631)

Adhesive: Double sided 3M Catalogue No. 21200-46144-6 (St Paul, Minn. 55144)

Scotch Fine Line Tape 218, 3M Catalogue No. 70-0060-4397-3 (St Paul, Minn. 55144)

Example 1 Preparation of Catechol Chitosan and Characterization

Catechol chitosan synthesis is an N-acylation reaction between a catechol molecule containing a terminal carboxylic acid and the C-2 amine of glucosamine mer of the chitosan (See FIG. 7). The reaction is performed at controlled pH in dilute aqueous solution at room temperature. Table 1 (FIG. 18) provides a number of examples of catechol modified formulations used in the preparation of the invention. Column 1 of Table 1 provides a list of dressing preparations. The formulations of the preparations are listed in column 2 of Table 1.

Catechol chitosan formulations have an acronym of “Cs-Cat”. The Cs-Cat formulation number is provided immediately after the “Cs-Cat” and is written “Cs-Cat, XX” where XX is a numeric representing the catechol chitosan formulation number. Chitosan solutions were prepared and these are written as “Chitosan” or “Cs” typically with the acid (lactic or acetic) used to provide aqueous solution. HPMC is hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose. HPC is hydroxypropyl cellulose whereas HEC is hydroxyethyl cellulose. Chitosa lots are shown in column 3. The catechol degree of substitution of the chitosan (column 4 of table 1) was determined as follows:

Quartz UV test cells, 1 cm path length, x2 (HACH Co., cat # 48228-00) were used in acquiring UV/vis spectra. The UV/Vis spectrophotometer was a Varian Cary Bio 100.

Standard solutions of 3,4-dihydroxyhydrocinnamic acid were prepared in water and absorbance at 280 nm was plotted against concentration. The extinction coefficient ε in the Beer Lambert relationship shown below for absorbance in dilute solution

A=ε·c·l

A is absorbance (dimensionless) and l is the path length.

(Absorbance <0.5) was determined as 2,540±50 liter/(mol.cm). This value was used to determine degree of substitution in the modified chitosan in dilute aqueous solution of known mass of modified chitosan, known volume of solution and measured peak absorbance at 280 nm.

The chitosan catechol solution is diluted so that its absorbance at 280 nm is less than 0.5 (usually about 1:50 or 1:100). The absorbance, the weight of the solution used in the dilution, and the percent solids (CS-catechol) were used to find the fractional degree of substitution (f_(DS)) of the HCA with respect to free amines on the chitosan backbone according to the equations:

$f_{DS} = \frac{n_{HCA}}{f_{DDA} \cdot n_{{total}\mspace{14mu} {Chitosan}\mspace{14mu} {mers}}}$ $f_{DS} = \frac{A \cdot V \cdot \left\{ {\left( {f_{DDa} \cdot 161} \right) + \left( {1 - {f_{DDA} \cdot 203}} \right)} \right\}}{ɛ \cdot l \cdot \left\{ {m_{cc} - \left( {\frac{A \cdot V}{ɛ \cdot l} \cdot 165.17} \right)} \right\} \cdot f_{DDA}}$

where A is UV/vis absorbance at 280 nm of the modified chitosan; V is the volume (liters) of the modified chitosan solution taken to dry to constant dry mass; m_(CC) is the measured dry mass (g) of the catechol modified chitosan; f_(DDA) is the fractional degree of deacetylation of the chitosan.

The percentage solute (primarily hydrophilic polymer) in the solutions is shown in column 5 of Table 1. The depth of solution poured into the flat well mold for freeze phase separation is provided in column 6 of Table 1. On freezing the depth of pour remains substantially unchanged so that after freeze drying the depth of pour provides a helpful indicator for the extent of compression change when referencing a the final set of the compressed dressing (provided in column 7 of Table 1). The final density of the dry compressed dressing is provided in column 8 of Table 1. Column 9 of Table 1 provides any additional information regarding the dressing preparation. It is interesting to note that the dressing 17 preparation was carried to a high degree of dryness while dressing preparations 71, 79, 80, 83, 84 and 85 were all performed with co-compression of a non-catechol chitosan dressing. These non-catechol chitosan dressings used as backings were all formed from 5 mm poured 43000 0.5% w/w chitosan acetic acid solution.

Examples of the catechol chitosan syntheses are given in the 6 approach variants provided below.

Approach 1

CS-catechol, batch 15:

Chitosan (1.51 g) was dissolved in deionized water (140 g) with 1.0 M HCl (5 mL). A 1:1 v/v solution (145 mL) of deionized water to ethanol was prepared. 3,4-dihydroxyhydrocinnamic acid (HCA; 10.5 mmol) and N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC; 13.0 mmol) were dissolved in the water/alcohol solution. Next, the water/alcohol solution was slowly added to the chitosan solution prepared above and the reaction mixture was put on stirring. The pH of the reaction mixture was maintained at 5.5 using 5.0 M NaOH solution and left to react overnight. After reacting overnight, the solution was dialyzed against 5L of deionized water acidified with 1 drop of 1.0 M HCl solution for three days and against deionized water for 4 hours. Dialysate was changed periodically (at least every 24-48 hours) throughout the duration of the dialysis.

Approach 2

CS-catechol, batch 22-1:

Chitosan (9.03 g) was dissolved in deionized water (126 g) with 1.0 M HCl (30 mL). The pH of the solution was then brought to 5.1 using 1.0 M NaOH solution. A 1:1 v/v solution (150 mL) of deionized water to ethanol was prepared and

N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC; 31.3 mmol) was dissolved in the water/alcohol solution. 3,4-dihydroxyhydrocinnamic (HCA; 15.7 mmol) was dissolved in of deionized water (15 mL). Next, the HCA solution was slowly added to the chitosan solution prepared above and the reaction mixture was put under overhead stirring. The EDC solution was then added slowly to the HCA/chitosan solution. The pH of the reaction mixture was maintained at 4.9 using 0.1 N KOH in methanol solution. After reacting overnight, the solution was dialyzed against 5L of deionized water acidified with 1 drop of 1.0 M HCl solution for four days. Dialysate was changed periodically (at least every 24-48 hours) throughout the duration of the dialysis.

Some of the solution isolated from CS-catechol, batch 22 after dialysis was placed in an oven to concentrate the solution. The solution was baked at 80 C and the volume decreased by approximately one third.

Approach 3

CS-catechol, batch 32 (Prototype A, Acute In-Vivo I):

Chitosan (1.504 g) was dissolved in deionized water (143.5 g) with 1.0 M HCl solution (5.0 mL). The pH of the solution was then brought up to 5.5 with 1.0 M NaOH solution. A 1:1 v/v solution (150 mL) of deionized water to ethanol) was prepared and N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC; 2.93 mmol) and 3,4-dihydroxyhydrocinnamic (HCA; 10.41 mmol) were dissolved in the water/alcohol solution. Next, the water/alcohol reactant solution was slowly added to the chitosan chloride solution. The pH was controlled between 4.9 and 5.5 during addition of the reactants to the chitosan solution using 1.0 M NaOH solution. After addition of the reactants, the reaction mixture was monitored for 2-4 hours and the pH was controlled between 5.4 and 5.7 using drops of 1.0 M HCl and 1.0 M NaOH as needed. Next, pH was controlled to 5.5 and left to react overnight. After reacting overnight (approximately 18-24 hours), the pH of the chitosan catechol solution was controlled back to 5.5. Next, the chitosan catechol solution was dialyzed against 5L of deionized water at approximately pH 5.8 for 5 days, and against deionized water at approximately pH 6.1 for 4-24 hours. Dialysate was changed periodically (at least every 24-48 hours) throughout dialysis procedure.

Approach 4

CS-catechol, batch 33

Chitosan (0.507 g) was dissolved in deionized water (47.5 g) with 1.0 M HCl solution (2.0 mL). The pH of the solution was brought up to 5.5 using 5.0 M

NaOH solution. A 1:1 v/v solution (50 mL) of deionized water to ethanol was prepared and N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC; 2.94 mmol) and 3,4-dihydroxyhydrocinnamic (HCA; 1.49 mmol) were dissolved in the water/alcohol solution (-reactant solution-). Next, the reactant solution was slowly added to the chitosan chloride solution. The pH was controlled between 5.4 and 5.6 for 2.5 hours. Then, the pH was controlled down to 5.4 and left to react overnight (approximately 18-24 hours). The resulting chitosan catechol solution was pH controlled to approximately 5.5 and subsequently dialyzed at approximately pH 5.8 for 3 days and deionized water for 3 days. The dialysate was changed periodically throughout the dialysis procedure. After dialysis, the solution was allowed to evaporate excess water gained during dialysis by hanging the solution in the dialysis tubing in a fume hood overnight. The solution was left until it returned to its pre-dialysis weight.

Approach 5

CS-catechol, batch 35

Chitosan (1.681 g+10.6% w/w moisture) was dissolved in deionized water (143.5 g) with 1.0 M HCl solution (11 mL). The pH of the chitosan chloride solution was then brought up to approximately 5.5 with 1.0 M NaOH solution. A 1:1 v/v solution (150 mL) of deionized water and ethanol was prepared and N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC; 8.76 mmol), 3,4-(HCA; 2.39 mmol), and N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC; 2.36 mmol) were dissolved in the water/alcohol solution (-reactant solution-). Next, the reactant solution was added to the chitosan chloride solution. The pH of the reaction mixture was controlled between 5.2 and 5.3 during the addition of the reactant solution. After 2 hours, the pH of the reaction mixture was brought up to approximately 5.4. The solution was then left to react overnight (approximately 18-24 hours). After reacting overnight, the pH of the solution was controlled up to approximately 5.5. The solution was dialyzed against 5L of deionized water for 6 days. The dialysate was changed periodically (at least every 24-48 hours) throughout the dialysis procedure.

Approach 6

CS-catechol, batch 38

Chitosan (1.678 g+10.6% w/w moisture) was dissolved in deionized water (143.3 g) with 1.0 M HCl solution (8 g). The pH of the chitosan chloride solution was then brought up to approximately 5.5 with 1.0 M NaOH solution. A 1:1 v/v solution (150 mL) of deionized water and ethanol was prepared and N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC; 2.95 mmol), 3,4-dihydroxyhydrocinnamic (HCA; 1.475 mmol were dissolved in the water/alcohol solution (-reactant solution-). Next, the reactant solution was added to the chitosan chloride solution. The pH of the reaction mixture was controlled at close to pH 5.5 during the addition of the reactant solution. After 2 hours, the pH of the reaction mixture was adjusted up to 5.51. The solution was then left to react in a covered beaker a room temperature for 20 hours. After 20 hours, the pH of the solution was 5.54. The solution was divided into 3 lots of close to 100 g solutions in dialysis tubing and dialyzed against 5L of deionized water for 5 days with pH at 5.8-5.9 on the first 3 days and pH 6.2 on the fourth day. The dialysate was changed regularly (every 24 hours) throughout the dialysis procedure.

Example 2 Freeze Phase Separated Hydrophilic Polymer Dressings

Hydrophilic polymer aqueous solutions were prepared inside 500 ml, 1000 ml or 2000 ml Nalgene LDPE bottles or polypropylene beakers by addition of components including but not limited to pre-prepared solution, hydrophilic polymer, water, acid, and additional components. Table 1 lists 85 of the formulation types that were investigated.

The main problems experienced when formulating for the transuretheral prostatectomy application with dressings in direct contact with urine were: 1) rapid (generally <30 mins) urine promoted dissolution of chitosan; 2) interference from blood in achieving rapid adherence with the pure catechol modified chitosans; 3) susceptibility to dressing cracking and tearing when making changes to formulations to address problems with dissolution and adherence. The final hydrophilic polymer solution % w/w was between 0.1% to 4% by weight polymer. Capped bottles and their contents were mixed continuously at room temperature over 12-24 hours to achieve full solution homogeneity using IKA KS260 orbital shaker or a Wheaton bench top bottle roller. Beaker solutions were mixed on a magnetic stirrer plate with magnetic stirrer bead at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours to achieve solution homogeneity. Parafilm was used to close the beaker from the external environment during mixing. The solutions prepared for freeze phase separation were substantially homogeneous and clear when suspension conditions were not present. The catechol chitosan solutions demonstrated some haze and milky appearance indicating presence of some dispersed fine catechol chitosan globular particles.

Chitosan solutions were prepared as freeze phase separated dressings with final solution % weight of hydrophilic polymer in the range 0.25% to 4% w/w aqueous solution. Freeze phase separation was performed in Teflon coated aluminum mold wells with horizontal flat bases. The solutions were poured into the wells to a height from the mold base of preferably not more than about 10 mm, more preferably 2.5 mm and most preferably 5.0 mm. The solutions initially at a temperature in the molds before freezing between 15° C. and 30° C. were then frozen by application of cooling through the base of the molds. Although other cooling temperatures may be applied to achieve suitable freeze phase separated structure, preferably the applied cooling temperature of the shelf was −40° C., more preferably the cooling temperature was 31 55° C. and most preferably the cooling temperature was −45° C. After the solution achieved freezing phase separation and the temperature of the frozen solution equilibrated at the freezing temperature, the system was allowed to further freeze phase separate and equilibrate for at least an additional hour before drying. In a modified freezing and mold filling method to accommodate layers of different freeze phase separated solutions, a first layer was added to the mold to a preferred depth and frozen, a second layer was then added and frozen, a multi-layered freeze phase separated dressing could be prepared in this manner. Care was needed to ensure there was no frost between an (n-1)th frozen and nth poured solution and differences in layer frozen structure could result in cracking. Layering of separate frozen layers adhering together and not cracking is a significant problem. The discovery of the successful method of layering and adhering of single layer previously dried hydrophilic polymer matrices to a single co-adhered compressed multilayered composite sheet during this investigation was an unexpected and significant finding.

A 24 square foot shelf Virtis Benchmark 2000 pilot scale freeze dryer was used for sublimation freeze drying of the freeze phase separated frozen solution plaques. In the primary freeze drying (removal of ice not hydrogen bonded to the hydrophilic polymers), the equilibrated frozen plaques in their molds were subjected to reduction in pressure ≤300 mTorr within the freeze dryer, the freeze dryer condenser was set to ≤−65° C. and the freeze dryer shelves were heated to promote sublimation of the ice from the freeze separated plaques without increasing plaque temperature above −15° C. After removal of substantially all the non-bonded ice, the shelf temperature was raised to near 25° C. for removal of the hydrogen bonded ice and reduction of moisture content in the dried dressing matrix to not more than 4% residual water in the dried dressing matrix. Final dried matrices conformed to the original shape of the filled mold with close to 5% shrinkage in length and width and density between 0.005 g/cm3 and 0.04 g/cm3. They contained void space of more than 95% and they were interconnected porous structure with fine polymer lamella (submicron to 5 micron thickness) and pore spacing between adjacent lamella of 100 microns to 300 microns.

After freeze phase separation and drying, the dried matrices were compressed from their original thicknesses (10 mm to 2.5 mm) to a final thickness preferably near 50 microns. If two uncompressed dressings were compressed one on top of the other then they would be permanently bonded together at the conclusion of the compression process. Calibrated uniform thickness thin shims may be used in the compression to achieve a desired thickness of compressed dressing substantially the same thickness as the shim. There are a number of ways to achieve this compression with a desired compression set near 50 microns. The preferred compression method used in the investigation was compression of the whole dried uncompressed dressing (dimensions typically close to 100 mm long×100 mm wide×2.5 mm high or 50 mm diameter×2.5 mm high) with uniaxial compression rate at ≤0.5 mm/min to ≤100 microns thickness between aligned platens. The platens (Diamond sprayed or Teflon coated Mic 6 Aluminum 300 mm×300 mm×90 mm) were machined to flat planar faces (≤5 microns in 300 mm) with none or some controlled texture machined into their surface. The temperature of platens during compression was maintained preferably near 80° Cover 3-5 minutes of uniaxial compression. Compression was achieved by screw loading at the four corners of the platens at up to four tonnes loading at each corner. Compression was held for at least 2 minutes before release of load. The novel compressed hydrophilic polymer matrices were measured for compression thickness and weight. Final densities were between 0.25 and 0.9 g/cm³. After compression, the dressings were further processed. This additional processing included die cutting into 2.5 cm diameter test pieces and in some cases thermal annealing heat treatment (heated in a convection oven at 60° C.-150° C. for 5-30 minutes). At the conclusion of processing the dressings were placed in foil pouches with zip lock or thermal sealing. Packaged dressings intended for animal and biocompatibility testing were gamma-irradiated at 25 kGy.

Example 3 In Vitro and Ex-vivo Testing of Chitosan Endoluminal Hemostatic Dressing Prototypes In Vitro Beaker Test

The dissolution behavior of the CEHD was investigated under conditions similar to those that would be experienced during TURP in vivo use. Dissolution was monitored for periods up to 7 days to establish that the CEHD dissolution met targeted resistance to early dissolution (in the first 24 hours) with subsequent later dissolution so that no residual CEHD would be present after 168 hours (7 days). Sectioned pieces (25 mm×25 mm×3 mm) of porcine bladder tissue with mucosal surface facing outwards were fixed with cyanoacrylate cement to the bottom of a 200-milliliter polystyrene beaker. One drop of solution of 1:250 v/v blood in standard saline was onto the top surface of the ex-vivo sectioned bladder tissue. A CEHD dressing piece (1.3 cm×1.9 cm) was applied with 9.7 kPa (73 mmHg) pressure to the wetted tissue surface by application of a 500-gram standard weight (Troemner, Thorofare N.J. 08086) onto a 2.54 cm diameter probe for 5 minutes. Sufficient synthetic urine (50 ml) at room temperature was added to the beaker to submerse the CEHD pieces. The beaker was covered with Parafilm, incubated (Fisher Scientific Model 146E, CAT. 97-990E) at 37° C., and placed on a shaker (IKA AS260.1, KS 260) at 120 rpm. The synthetic urine solution was changed every 24 hours and dissolution behavior was documented by amount of dressing visually present at regular intervals until complete dissolution, or up until 168 hours. In some tests, CEHD test piece adhesion to tissue was evaluated by a horizontal scraping movement of tweezers to measure resistance to sheer force. The CEHD tissue adhesion testing was performed during the in-vitro dissolution testing on a pass or fail basis, and noted as low, moderate, or high.

The results of in vitro dissolution and adhesion to porcine bladder mucosa are shown in Table 2 (FIG. 19). The in vitro dissolution and adhesion to porcine bladder mucosa results were used together with results of folding and device deployment testing to select three preferred dressing types for biocompatibility and in vivo testing. These dressing types included catechol modified chitosan preparations and preparations of both catechol and thiol chitosan modification. The preferred pre-in-vivo dressing types were labelled types A, B and C. Dressing Lots 71 and 81 representing type A dressings; Lots 78 and 83 representing B type dressings and Lots 75, 80 and 84 representing type C dressings.

In-Vitro Simulated Venous Wound Sealing (SVWS) Testing

A laboratory simulated venous wound sealing (SVWS) device was built to test the sealing ability of the CEHD adhered by one drop of dilute blood, 1:250 v/v blood in standard saline, with 9.7 kPa load for 5 minutes over a 1.5 mm diameter “injury” aperture in the center of a standard PVC plate whose surface had previously been shown to mimic dermis with respect to mucoadhesive chitosan binding to dermis. Silastic Laboratory Tubing, Size −0.250 in I.D.×0.375 in O.D., Dow Corning Corporation (Midland, Mich. 48686) connected an open reservoir of citrated bovine whole blood to the aperture with a stopper valve immediately before the aperture. The vertical height of the blood level in the reservoir relative above the aperture was adjustable from 0.0 to 50 cm. After a CEHD test dressing was attached centrally over the aperture in the standard PVC surface the stopper valve was opened and dressings were observed for 15 minutes and assessed (pass/fail) on their ability to maintain sealing (absence of blood leakage through or under the attached dressing). The pressure head was noted in each test. This test provided rapid simulated bleeding control testing of prototype CEHD's under venous bleeding pressure.

Simulated bleeding rate (g/min) was determined by weight difference between a pre-weighed absorbent sheet and the same absorbent sheet placed over the “injury” collecting flowing blood for 15 seconds and multiplying by 4.

A 20 cm to 42 cm head height difference at 23° C. is equivalent to 14.7 mmHg to 30.9 mmHg pressure (typical of venous pressure in prostatic bleeding). Bleed rates for the 20 cm and 42 cm height differences were determined as 4.7 and 8.0 g/min respectively.

Results of in-vitro simulated venous wound sealing (SVWS) testing are provided in Table 3 of 25 kGy gamma irradiated dressings Lots B and C (with shelf life in foil packaging at 25° C. temperature storage for 0 and 6 months).

TABLE 3 IN-VITRO SIMULATED VENOUS WOUND SEALING (SVWS) TEST RESULTS. Shelf-life Dressing Height Test Test Test Test Test (months) type (cm) 1 2 3 4 5 0 C 21 Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass 0 B 21 Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass 6 C 21 Pass Pass Pass 6 B 21 Pass Pass Pass 6 C 42 Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass 6 B 42 Fail Fail Fail Fail Fail Ex-vivo flow testing of 10 mm x 10 mm dressing adhered over 3 mm diameter perforation in SIS Test dressings that performed well in vitro (dressing types B and C, N =10 each) -see Tables 1 and 2) were adhered under balloon pressure near 7 psi for about 3 minutes to porcine small intestine submucosa (SIS) centrally over a 3 mm diameter hole in the SIS supported in an Adams & Chittenden custom manufactured glass test cell (see FIG. 12). The test cell containing the dressing adhered to the SIS sealing the defect was connected to the flow system depicted in FIG. 13. A Fisher Scientific

FH100M multichannel peristaltic pump with 13-310-911 flow cassettes was used to provide a controlled rate of flow near 20 ml/min. Synthetic urine near 34° C. to 37° C. and fully filling the volume of the cell was flowed through the cell at close to 20 ml per minute for 6 to 20 hours. The purpose of the testing was to demonstrate ability of the dressings to remain adhered to mucosa under flowing urine without tearing or loss of particles or larger pieces from the dressing.

In the case of dressing Type C (dressing Lots 75 and 80), one test was performed for 20 hours. At the conclusion of the testing, an external pressure of 1:250 v/v blood in standard saline near 20 mmHg was applied through the jacketed circuit of the glass test cell to test the adherence of the test dressing to the tissue. The application of pressure was applied 4 times and the dressing successfully remained adhered over the 3 mm diameter hole to the internal SIS surface resisting the external application of fluid pressure on all 4 pressure applications. This 20 hour tested dressing was also examined for loss of mass (by gravimetric comparison of dry weight before and after testing). The gravimetric testing of type C dressing after 20 hours showed that material loss of catechol modified chitosan (most likely by dissolution) was ≤15% by dry weight of the original dressing. All other tests for the type C dressings were performed for 6 hours without application of the external pressure stress. In the case of the type C dressings, there was no significant visible dissolution of dressing or any loss of material from the dressings. All dressings remained adhered to the SIS at the end of testing. The adhesion (to SIS mucosa) and cohesion of the dressings were rated as moderate.

In the case of dressing Lot Type B (dressing Lots 78 and 83) one test was performed for 24 hours. This 24 hour tested dressing was examined for loss of mass (by gravimetric comparison of dry weight before and after testing). The gravimetric testing of type B dressing after 24 hours showed that material loss of catechol modified chitosan (most likely by dissolution) was significant at 39.4% by dry weight of the original dressing. All other tests for the type B dressings were performed for 6 hours. In the case of the type B dressings, there were visible indications of significant dissolution of dressing (gelling) and loss of material (visible pieces being released from dressing) from the dressings. The adhesion (to SIS mucosa) and cohesion of the dressings were rated as moderate to low.

Example 4 Foldability and Deployment Testing of Dressing

All dressing Lots (N≥3) were tested for foldability because this is an important characteristic for ability to attach, furl and deploy the dressing of the invention against prostatic and bladder neck injury sites. Fold testing involved folding the horizontally planar final compressed circular dressing through 180° edge over edge, first in an anticlockwise direction, holding the edges together and compressing firmly in the middle of the dressing to create a single linear fold axis (or crease) in the dressing. The folded dressing is then opened and the edge to edge fold is reproduced in the new fold axis but with the folding in the opposite clockwise direction. Foldability success is rated as no tears or cracks being visible along the fold axis and no significant loss in tensile properties of the dressing (determined by gentle pulling across the fold of the dressing). Results of the foldability testing are provided in column 4 of Table 2.

Deployment testing (N=5) was performed with preferred chitosan backed dressing types A, B and C using a 250-milliliter volumetric flask filled with normal saline as a model of a urine filled bladder neck. A fully assembled device with CEHD dressing, sheath covering and balloon catheter (distal and proximal balloons) was submerged in the normal saline below the neck of the volumetric flask. The CEHD application was initiated by inflating the distal balloon to break the protective waterproof sheath at its distal end, followed by manual complete and intact removal of the torn sheath by pulling on its dry free end outside the flask, swift positioning of the distal balloon at the bladder neck followed quickly by smooth and rapid inflation of the proximal balloon to open and adhere the dressing against the flask neck. All dressing types (A, B and C) were delivered successfully with good adhesion to the glass vessel neck.

Example 5 Biocompatibility of Dressing Types

ISO 10993-1 biocompatibility testing of finished, packaged, sterile (terminal gamma irradiation at 25 kGy) devices was conducted according to testing requirements for external communicating devices with indirect blood path contact for limited contact. The tested included cytotoxicity, dermal irritation and acute systemic toxicity (in triplicate for each test).

Dressing types A and C passed all the biocompatibility testing while dressing type B failed the acute systemic toxicity testing. It is suspected that gamma irradiation produced a toxic thiol residue in the type B dressing.

Example 6 Acute In Vivo Bladder Neck and Swine Splenic Capsular Stripping Models of Hemostasis

Acute in vivo testing was performed in six domestic female Yorkshire swine, body weight 40-50 Kg (Oak Hill Genetics, Calif.) and the delivery device was assembled with the three CEHD prototypes (Dressing A: n=6; Dressing B: n=9; Dressing C: n=10). The experiment was designed as a blinded randomized study of efficacy of individual prototypes vs controls in acute swine bladder neck and splenic parenchyma bleeding injury models.

TABLE 4 STUDY RESULTS ACUTE IN VIVO Conditions Dressing A Dressing B Dressing C* Control Adherence score in vivo  1.75 ± 0.29  1.58 ± 0.91  1.7 ± 0.97 (0-4)‡ Initial bleeding rate at 5 0.035 ± .007 0.032 ± .027 0.039 ± .031 min (ml/min) in bladder neck injury Bleeding rate after applied 0.0045 ± .0029 0.0042 ± .0034 0.0034 ± .0011 CEHD at 2 hrs in bladder neck injury (ml/min) Hemostasis at 30 sec in 1/12 3/12 5/12 0/12† splenic injury mode (ratio) Hemostasis at 3 min in 6/12 7/12 4/12 6/12† splenic injury mode (ratio) *Dressing C was selected to advance to a seven day survival study. ‡0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 = no (material does not adhere), low (adheres but is easily dislodged), moderate (can be removed by probing at edge), moderate to strong (resists removal by probing edge), and strong (probe cannot dislodge edge) adherence respectively. †Surgical gauze was used as negative control for splenic injury model.

Example 7 Seven-Day Survival Study of Control Urethral Hemorrhaging Using Final CEHD Device

The final CEHD prototype delivered by double balloon catheter device was tested in vivo over 7 days against a conventional single balloon Foley catheter with no CEHD in a prospective randomized study in two ten animal groups with bleed rate determined by hematuria in the urine prior to injury, 30 minutes after injury, at 1 day at 2 days. After the bladder neck injury was made, the control or test materials were placed at the injury site. In the case of the test article CEHD, initial balloon pressure and traction were maintained for 3 minutes after which the traction and balloon pressure were removed. In the case of the control Foley catheter the balloon pressure and traction were applied against the wound as same as for CEHD deployment.

Of twenty swine, four (2 in each arm) were euthanized early and excluded from study due to surgery related adverse events including which 3 had bladder neck/urethral perforation during creating the injury model and 1 had tracheal perforation during anesthesia intubation. None of the control or test swine demonstrated material related adverse responses. The following results were obtained from the study: 1) Bleed rates decreased significantly in both cases of balloon compression with or without CEHD. There was no statistically significant difference between the CEHD group and control group (FIG. 9) with respect to bleed rates. 2) Histology study showed the bladder neck wounds healed well at 7 days in both study groups (FIG. 12). No CEHD residuals were found at day 7.3) Animals in both groups demonstrated good health over 7 days of monitoring, with no signs of adverse events that related to CEHD device. 

1. A endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device, comprising: an endoluminal hemostatic dressing, a distal balloon, and a proximal balloon that is proximal along a length of the delivery device with respect to the distal balloon, wherein the distal balloon, when inflated, can be used to position the proximal balloon and the endoluminal hemostatic dressing with low tension along the delivery device.
 2. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of claim 1, further comprising a catheter.
 3. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 1-2, wherein the distal balloon, when inflated, can sit against a neck of a human bladder.
 4. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the distal balloon, when inflated, can be used to align the proximal balloon with an injury site.
 5. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of claim 4, wherein the injury site is at a prostate cavity injury.
 6. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the endoluminal hemostatic dressing is attached to the proximal balloon by a releasable tape.
 7. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the endoluminal hemostatic dressing is furled around the proximal balloon.
 8. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of claim 7, wherein the proximal balloon can be inflated to deliver the endoluminal hemostatic dressing to an injury site.
 9. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 1-8, further comprising a water impermeable sheath extending around the endoluminal hemostatic dressing.
 10. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of claim 9, wherein the water impermeable sheath can be ruptured before or upon delivery of the endoluminal hemostatic dressing to an injury site.
 11. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 1-10 wherein the endoluminal hemostatic dressing is in a compact condition.
 12. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 1-10 wherein the endoluminal hemostatic dressing is in an open condition.
 13. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 1-10 wherein the endoluminal hemostatic dressing can be in a compact condition or in an open condition, wherein the endoluminal hemostatic dressing has a first surface area when in the compact condition and a second surface area when in the open condition, and wherein the second surface area is at least about three times larger than the first surface area.
 14. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 1-13 wherein the endoluminal hemostatic dressing comprises catechol modified chitosan.
 15. A endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device, comprising: an endoluminal hemostatic dressing, a balloon that can be used to deliver the endoluminal hemostatic dressing to an injury site, and a catheter.
 16. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of claim 15 wherein the injury site is inside a bladder of a patient.
 17. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 15-16, wherein the balloon can be aligned with the injury site.
 18. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of claim 17, wherein the injury site is at a prostate cavity injury.
 19. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 15-18, wherein the endoluminal hemostatic dressing is attached to the balloon by a releasable tape.
 20. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 15-19, wherein the endoluminal hemostatic dressing is furled around the balloon.
 21. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of claim 20, wherein the balloon can be inflated to deliver the endoluminal hemostatic dressing to the injury site.
 22. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 15-21, further comprising a water impermeable sheath around the endoluminal hemostatic dressing.
 23. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 15-22, wherein the water impermeable sheath can be ruptured before or upon delivery of the endoluminal hemostatic dressing to the injury site.
 24. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 15-23 wherein the endoluminal hemostatic dressing is in a compact condition.
 25. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 15-23 wherein the endoluminal hemostatic dressing is in an open condition.
 26. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 15-23 wherein the endoluminal hemostatic dressing can be in a compact condition or in an open condition, wherein the endoluminal hemostatic dressing has a first surface area when in the compact condition and a second surface area when in the open condition, and wherein the second surface area is at least about three times larger than the first surface area.
 27. The endoluminal hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 15-26 wherein the endoluminal hemostatic dressing comprises catechol modified chitosan.
 28. A hemostatic dressing delivery device, comprising: a dressing in a compact condition and a balloon, wherein the balloon, when inflated, can be used to position the dressing in an open condition.
 29. The hemostatic dressing delivery device of claim 28 wherein the dressing has a first surface area when in the compact condition and a second surface area when in the open condition, and wherein the second surface area is at least about three times larger than the first surface area.
 30. The hemostatic dressing delivery device of any one of claims 28-29, wherein the dressing comprises catechol modified chitosan.
 31. A method, comprising: mounting a dressing onto a balloon of a balloon catheter, the dressing mounted onto the balloon in a compact condition; inserting the dressing in the compact condition and the balloon of the balloon catheter through a urethra of a patient into a bladder of the patient; inflating the balloon to expand the dressing from the compact condition to an open condition and to press the dressing against internal tissues of the patient; deflating the balloon; and removing the balloon of the balloon catheter from the bladder through the urethra while leaving the dressing in place against the internal tissues.
 32. The method of claim 31, wherein inflating the balloon to press the dressing against internal tissues of the patient includes pressing the dressing against the internal tissues for between 3 and 120 minutes.
 33. The method of any one of claims 31-32, wherein inflating the balloon to press the dressing against the internal tissues and leaving the dressing in place against the internal tissues stops bleeding at the internal tissues.
 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the dressing is capable of stopping bleeding at a blood flow rate of anywhere within the range of 1 ml/min to 5 ml/min at the internal tissues.
 35. The method of claim 33, wherein the dressing is capable of stopping bleeding at a blood flow rate of anywhere within the range of 1 ml/min to 10 ml/min at the internal tissues.
 36. The method of claim 33, wherein the dressing is capable of stopping bleeding at a blood flow rate of anywhere within the range of 1 ml/min to 15 ml/min at the internal tissues.
 37. The method of claim 33, wherein the dressing is capable of stopping bleeding at a blood flow rate of anywhere within the range of 1 ml/min to 20 ml/min at the internal tissues.
 38. The method of claim 33, wherein the dressing is capable of stopping bleeding at a blood flow rate of anywhere within the range of 1 ml/min to 25 ml/min at the internal tissues.
 39. The method of claim 33, wherein the dressing is capable of stopping bleeding at a blood flow rate of anywhere within the range of 1 ml/min to 150 ml/min at the internal tissues.
 40. The method of claim 33, wherein the dressing is capable of stopping bleeding at a blood flow rate of anywhere within the range of 1 ml/min to 200 ml/min at the internal tissues.
 41. The method of any one of claims 31-40, wherein the dressing resists dissolution in bladder fluids at about 37° C. for at least 6 hours.
 42. The method of any one of claims 31-40, wherein the dressing resists dissolution in bladder fluids at about 37° C. for at least 12 hours.
 43. The method of any one of claims 31-40, wherein the dressing resists dissolution in bladder fluids at about 37° C. for at least 24 hours.
 44. The method of any one of claims 31-40, wherein the dressing fully dissolves in bladder fluids at about 37° C. within less than about 7 days.
 45. The method of any one of claims 31-40, wherein the dressing fully dissolves in bladder fluids at about 37° C. within between about 3 days and about 7 days.
 46. The method of any one of claims 31-40, wherein the dressing fully dissolves in bladder fluids at about 37° C. within between about 4 days and about 7 days. 